President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States is raising tariffs on goods coming from South Korea. The new tariff rate will be 25%, up from the earlier 15%. Trump made the announcement in a post on Truth Social. He blamed South Korea’s lawmakers for not moving fast enough on a trade deal between the two countries.
South Korea is one of America’s biggest trading partners. In 2024 alone, South Korea sent goods worth $132 billion to the United States, according to Commerce Department data. Some of the biggest products South Korea sells to the US include cars, car parts, semiconductors, and electronic goods. With tariffs going up, these items could become more expensive for American buyers.
Trump raises tariffs on South Korean goods to 25%
In a Truth Social post, Trump said trade agreements are “very important to America” and stressed that the US had already moved quickly to cut its own tariffs under the deal. He said Washington now expects the same commitment from its trading partners.
Trump said he and South Korean President Lee reached a “great deal” on July 30, 2025, and that both leaders reaffirmed the agreement during his visit to South Korea on October 29, 2025. However, he questioned why South Korea’s legislature has still not approved it.
Because of that delay, Trump announced higher tariffs on a wide range of South Korean goods, including autos, lumber, and pharmaceutical products. “Because the Korean Legislature hasn’t enacted our Historic Trade Agreement, which is their prerogative, I am hereby increasing South Korean TARIFFS on Autos, Lumber, Pharma, and all other Reciprocal TARIFFS, from 15% to 25%,” Trump wrote.
He added that the US had acted on its side of the bargain and said the tariff hike was a direct response to South Korea not doing the same.
South Korea-based Hyundai is the largest importer of new vehicles from South Korea into the US, making the auto sector especially vulnerable to the new tariffs.
What the earlier trade deal promised
Trump had announced a trade agreement with South Korea in July last year. That deal stopped tariffs from jumping from 10% straight to 25%. The agreement also promised special, lower rates on certain products, including imported cars. However, Trump now says South Korea’s legislature has not passed the agreement, leading him to raise tariffs again. The two countries agreed to the deal over the summer and shared key details publicly in November.
A wave of new tariff threats
The move against South Korea is part of a series of tariff threats made by Trump in recent days. Earlier, Trump threatened to slap a 100% tariff on Canadian goods. In a social media post, Trump warned Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, saying that if he “thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken.”
Earlier, he also announced an extra 10% tariff on countries that opposed his ambitions related to Greenland, though he later backed away from that plan.
Trump recently said he had reached a “framework of a future deal” with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, which led him to call off planned tariffs on European nations. Rutte said the agreement came after talks about security in the Arctic region. Trump claimed the framework would give the US “total access” to Greenland, though he has shared very few details.