President Donald Trump intensified trade pressure on South Korea on Monday, announcing higher tariffs after the country’s National Assembly failed to approve a trade framework unveiled last year.
In a social media post, Trump announced that the United States would raise import taxes on South Korean autos, lumber, and pharmaceutical products, while tariffs on other goods would increase from 15% to 25%. The president had originally imposed the measures by declaring an economic emergency, sidestepping Congress, even as South Korea’s system required lawmakers to formally approve the agreement announced in July and reaffirmed during Trump’s visit in October.
“Our Trade Deals are very important to America. In each of these Deals, we have acted swiftly to reduce our TARIFFS in line with the Transaction agreed to,” Trump said. “We, of course, expect our Trading Partners to do the same.”
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The renewed threat emphasized how trade brinkmanship that rattled markets last year could again become a recurring feature of Trump’s presidency. With tariffs serving as leverage, global commerce and U.S. voters may face repeated jolts as negotiations are reopened and pressure tactics reapplied.
Trump has previously linked the tariffs to promises by South Korea to invest $350 billion in the U.S. economy over several years, including funding aimed at reviving American shipbuilding. Relations between the two countries, however, have not always been smooth. Tensions flared last year when immigration officials raided a Hyundai manufacturing plant in Georgia, detaining 475 people.
Following an emergency meeting of senior officials, South Korea’s presidential office said it would relay its commitment to carrying out last year’s deal to Washington.
The office added that Industry Minister Kim Jung-Kwan will travel to the United States to meet Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, while Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo will hold separate talks with Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Kim was in Canada at the time of the announcement.
Lawmakers in South Korea have already introduced five bills tied to the proposed $350 billion investment package. Those measures are now before the National Assembly’s finance committee.
Kim Hyun-jung, a spokesperson for the governing Democratic Party, said the party plans to work with the government to accelerate debate and move the legislation forward.
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Assembly officials said the proposals are likely to be merged into a single bill, which must clear both the finance and judiciary committees before it can be brought to a floor vote.
Trump’s latest move aligns with a broader pattern of using tariffs as a central policy tool, often at the cost of straining diplomatic ties.
Just last week, he threatened to impose tariffs on eight European countries unless the United States gained control of Greenland, only to retreat from the ultimatum after meetings at the World Economic Forum in Davos. On Saturday, Trump warned he would slap a 100% tax on Canadian goods if Canada proceeded with plans to deepen trade with China.
While Trump regularly touts his trade frameworks as magnets for new investment, many of the deals he has promoted remain incomplete. The European Parliament has yet to approve a proposed agreement that would place a 15% tariff on most exports from the EU’s 27 member states.
Looking ahead, the United States is expected to reopen talks this year on its revised 2020 trade pact with Canada and Mexico, the AP reported. At the same time, the administration is pressing ahead with Section 232 investigations under the 1962 Trade Expansion Act, and awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on whether Trump overstepped his authority by imposing tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
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