The US president on Monday said that he is pushing the tariff rates from 15% to a flat 25% over an apparent delay in the South Korean legislature in passing a trade deal with the United States.
This tariff does not just affect the aforementioned auto industry but also the pharma and lumber-producing sectors.
The shares of the company listed on the South Korean exchange plummeted over 4%. Despite having made a recovery from that low point, the shares are trading with a deficit of over 2.5%.
The South Korean company is the largest importer of vehicles from the Korean nation into the United States.
Not just Hyundai, the share price of Hyundai’s subsidiary Kia dropped nearly 3.5%, and the affiliated Hyundai Mobis was down 5%.
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In his post on Truth Social, the 47th president said, "Our Trade Deals are very important to America. 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."
Invoking the Korean legislature, he said, "South Korea's Legislature is not living up to its Deal with the United States. President Lee and I reached a Great Deal for both Countries on July 30, 2025, and we reaffirmed these terms while I was in Korea on October 29, 2025. Why hasn't the Korean Legislature approved it?"
Escalating the tension over tariffs, he said, "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%. Thank you for your attention to this matter!".
As per a report from Reuters, South Korea’s presidential Blue House said that the Trump admin had not officially notified South Korea of the tariff hike.
