President Donald Trump has declared that he will impose a 25% tariff on imports from South Korea for certain products. These products include automobiles, lumber, and pharmaceuticals, as well as all reciprocal tariffs previously placed on South Korea by the US government.
In addition, President Trump accused the Korean government of “not following through” on previous trade agreements and that the Korean government has delayed ratifying the deal. The Korean government commented that they had not yet received official notification from the United States regarding the tariff increase on South Korean goods and that they would like to have urgent discussions regarding this action with the US government.
They also mentioned that Kim Jung-Kwan, the Korean minister of industry and trade, is currently in Canada, and that he will be travelling to Washington shortly to meet with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. On Tuesday morning, the stock prices of some South Korean companies decreased, including Hyundai Motor Company, whose stock price fell approximately 2.5%.
Seoul and Washington signed an agreement in October, where both sides agreed that South Korea would invest $350 billion (£256billion) into the American economy over ten years, with some of that money designated for the shipbuilding industry.
During the month of February, trade agreements were signed between South Korea and the United States that allowed South Korea to start reducing trade tariffs, subject to an agreement being reached with the United States regarding these tariffs. The trade agreement was submitted in November by South Korea’s National Assembly, who are currently reviewing the agreement. The agreement is expected to be approved in February, according to the media in South Korea.
The tariffs that importers of goods into the United States are required to pay are called import duties, and they are imposed on products that are imported into the United States. In this instance, United States companies will be required to pay an additional 25% on the value of any goods that they have purchased from South Korea.
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As of now, President Trump has threatened Canada with a 100% import duty should it enter into a trade agreement with China. On Monday, Chinese government authorities announced that their strategic partnership with Canada was not intended to undermine other nations. Prime Minister Mark Carney has stated publicly that Canada has no intention of entering into a free trade agreement with China or having any such agreement whatsoever.
In addition to the threats that President Trump has issued to Canada, he has also indicated that he would impose import taxes on eight countries, including the UK, which were opposed to the United States’ plans to seize Greenland, which is a territory controlled by Denmark and a member of NATO. President Trump subsequently retracted his threat to impose import taxes on Greenland, stating that he anticipates that there will be a future trade agreement regarding Greenland. However, this incident caused a breakdown in US relations with Denmark and other NATO members.
