Tag: tariffs

It will be interesting to see how Korea reacts to this latest tariff news:

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Monday that any country that wants to “play games” with last week’s Supreme Court ruling against his administration’s emergency tariffs, will face a “much higher” tariff.

Trump issued the warning in a social media post after the high court ruled Friday against his use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify country-specific “reciprocal” tariffs and other duties in a major setback to his trade policy.

“Any Country that wants to ‘play games’ with the ridiculous supreme court decision, especially those that have ‘Ripped Off’ the U.S.A. for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“BUYER BEWARE!!!,” he added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

You would think the Korea would have prioritized getting this deal done months ago considering how impatient Trump notoriously is on issues like this:

The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States will hold talks in Washington this week, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, amid uncertainties over their trade deal after U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning of a tariff hike.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will meet one-one-one with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday (local time) to discuss efforts toward implementing the summit agreements reached between Trump and President Lee Jae Myung, including the trade deal, the ministry said.

Cho is visiting Washington to attend a U.S.-led ministerial meeting on critical minerals supply chains, set for Wednesday.

The upcoming talks between Cho and Rubio are their first meeting since Trump threatened to raise the reciprocal tariff on South Korean goods to 25 percent from 15 percent, citing a delay in Seoul’s legislative process required to move the trade deal forward.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the National Assembly better get this trade deal ratified soon or face 25% tariffs:

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that there is no trade deal with South Korea until its legislature approves it, days after President Donald Trump threatened to increase “reciprocal” and other tariffs on the Asian country.

Bessent made the remarks during a CNBC interview, as South Korea’s Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan is set to visit the United States for talks with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to address the renewed trade tension.

“The South Korean parliament has not passed the trade deal,” he said. “So there is no trade deal until they ratify it.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

With the recent trade deal between the U.S. and Japan being agreed upon, this is now putting pressure on the ROK to get their own trade deal done before the August 1st deadline set by the Trump administration:

 South Korea will take into account details of a recent trade deal reached between the United States and Japan in a bid to use it as a possible reference for Seoul’s trade negotiations with Washington, the presidential office said Wednesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday (local time) that Washington had reached an agreement with Japan to cut proposed reciprocal tariffs on Japanese goods from 25 percent to 15 percent, adding the deal also includes Tokyo’s $550 billion investment pledge.

South Korea is also seeking to reduce 25 percent reciprocal U.S. tariffs, as well as sectoral tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, through a comprehensive trade proposal ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline set by the Trump administration.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but it seems like the ROK will likely sign a deal with at least a 15% tariff rate so their imports remain competitive against Japan.

I guess we will see next week if the ROK can strike a deal or not with the Trump administration. What will be interesting is if a deal is struck will the likely Lee Jae-myung administration in two months stick to it?:

The United States will engage in trade negotiations with South Korea next week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday, stressing the “first mover advantage,” as countries are striving to strike deals with the U.S. to minimize the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy on their economies.

In a Bloomberg interview, Bessent touched on plans for upcoming negotiations with South Korea and Japan. Earlier this month, Trump imposed steep “reciprocal” tariffs on the two allies and dozens of other countries but later placed a 90-day pause on the new tariffs.

“We had Vietnam in last week. We (have) Japanese in on Wednesday. … South Korea next week,” he said. “So it’s going to move fast.”

The secretary underscored there will be a “first mover” advantage as Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told parliament Monday (Tokyo time) that Japan will not make compromises for the sake of quickly wrapping up tariff talks with the U.S.

“I think there will be advantage to our allies, especially a first mover advantage,” he said. “Usually, the first person who makes a deal gets the best deal.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Trump has executed his usual playbook of making an extreme demand and then settling on what he really wanted and everyone claims he backed down:

 U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday lowered “reciprocal” tariffs on South Korea and other trading partners to 10 percent in what he called a pause that will last for 90 days, while increasing duties on China to 125 percent following China’s retaliatory move.

In a social media post, Trump made the announcement as reciprocal tariffs went into effect on the day, with dozens of countries striving to negotiate deals over new levies. Last week, his administration unveiled 25 percent tariffs on South Korea, 24 percent on Japan and 20 percent on the European Union, to name a few.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

If Trump wants to increase tariffs on South Korea I don’t think it really matters who the leader is:

Korea’s ongoing leadership crisis, triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s attempt to impose martial law, is feared to leave the country vulnerable to potential new tariffs from the incoming Donald Trump administration during upcoming trade and economic negotiations, industry officials said Sunday.

Yoon is suspended from his duties following the National Assembly’s vote on Saturday to impeach him over his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has stepped in as acting president.

Officials from the nation’s business community expressed concerns that Korea may have weaker negotiating power under the presidency of the interim head of state.

“Every nation engages in a tight tug-of-war with the United States to minimize any damages from the ultra-protectionist stance of Trump,” an official from a major manufacturing firm here said.

“But it becomes harder for Korea to do so on an equal footing due to the absence of the state leader.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.