Trump threatens to increase tariffs on South Korea
President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to increase tariffs on South Korea, accusing the country of not living up to the trade agreement it struck with the White House in July.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he will raise duties on South Korean automobiles and auto parts, lumber, pharmaceuticals and so-called reciprocal tariffs from 15 percent to 25 percent, because its legislature hasn’t affirmed the agreement.
“Our Trade Deals are very important to America,” Trump wrote. “In each of these Deals, we have acted swiftly to reduce our TARIFFS in line with the Transaction agreed to. We, of course, expect our Trading Partners to do the same.”
The White House has not yet issued an executive order raising the tariffs.
It is the latest in a series of tariff threats made by Trump this month, though he has yet to execute any of them — or in the case of a 25 percent tariff on European countries over Greenland, walked it back entirely.
South Korea’s government has drawn the administration’s ire for continuing to pursue digital regulations that U.S. officials argue would unfairly target American tech companies like Google and Meta. In December, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s office canceled a planned meeting with South Korean officials shortly after lawmakers there introduced the digital legislation.
The South Korean legislature passed the law later that month.
South Korea is not the only trading partner that is struggling to finalize a preliminary trade agreement with the administration. On Monday, the European Union continued to delay a vote that would lower tariffs on some U.S. goods to uphold the transatlantic trade agreement.
