South Korea Sees Exports Decline By 24% Likely From Trump’s Trade Tariffs
President Trump’s tariffs are definitely contributing to this, but exports across the board are down for South Korea, not just to the U.S.:
South Korea’s exports plunged nearly 24 percent in the first 10 days of May, signaling that the US Trump administration’s tariffs are beginning to take a toll on the trade-dependent economy.
Outbound shipments totaled $12.8 billion during the May 1-10 period, down 23.8 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Korea Customs Service released Monday.
Factoring in fewer workdays — five days during the period this year compared to 6.5 days in 2024 — average daily exports fell by just 1 percent, the agency added.
Shipments to China and the US — Korea’s two largest export markets — fell 20.1 percent and 30.4 percent, respectively. Exports to Vietnam declined 14.5 percent, while those to the European Union plunged 38.1 percent. Among the top five destinations, only Taiwan posted growth, with its shipments jumping 14.2 percent.
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