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| ▲ U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a briefing at the White House in Washington on Jan. 20, 2026, in this photo released by AFP. (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) Trump-S Korea-tariffs
(LEAD) Trump says U.S. is raising auto, reciprocal tariffs on S. Korea
(ATTN: RECASTS lead; UPDATES with more details in paras 5-9)
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he's raising "reciprocal" tariffs and auto tariffs on South Korea to 25 percent from 15 percent as he argued the Asian ally's legislature has not yet completed a domestic process to implement a bilateral trade deal.
Trump made the surprise announcement in a social media post, saying that his administration has acted "swiftly" to reduce its tariffs following trade deals and expects its trading partners "to do the same."
"South Korea's Legislature is not living up to its Deal with the United States. President Lee and I reached a Great Deal for both Countries on July 30, 2025, and we reaffirmed these terms while I was in Korea on October 29, 2025. Why hasn't the Korean Legislature approved it?" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"Because the Korean Legislature hasn't enacted our Historic Trade Agreement, which is their prerogative, I am hereby increasing South Korean TARIFFS on Autos, Lumber, Pharma, and all other Reciprocal TARIFFS, from 15% to 25%. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
He was apparently referring to a bill that the ruling Democratic Party submitted to the National Assembly in November to implement the bilateral trade and investment deal. It has yet to pass through the legislature.
Released in November, a joint fact sheet detailed a series of agreements on trade, investment and security, including South Korea's commitment to investing US$350 billion in the U.S. and other pledges in return for Washington's lowering of reciprocal tariffs and auto levies on South Korea to 15 percent.
The document included the Trump administration's approval for Seoul's push to acquire nuclear-powered submarines and its support for Korea's drive to secure civil uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing rights for peaceful purposes.
Trump's move for the tariff increase came amid concerns in Washington over South Korea's ongoing investigation into Coupang Inc., a U.S.-listed firm, over a massive customer data leak and the Asian country's regulatory moves against online platform companies.
U.S. lawmakers and investors called the investigation into Coupang "discriminatory," while the State Department expressed "significant concerns" last month over Seoul's regulatory moves that could affect online platform businesses.
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