US President Donald Trump increased tariffs on South Korean goods, accusing the country of “not living up” to a trade deal with Washington that was reached
last year. Trump said that the country's national assembly has yet to approve the trade framework. The move was a reminder that the tariff drama unleashed last year by Trump is likely to be repeated again and again this year. Trump said on social media that import taxes would be raised on autos, lumber and pharmaceutical drugs from South Korea with the rate on other goods going from 15 per cent to 25 per cent. "South Korea's Legislature is not living up to its Deal with the United States," Trump wrote on social media. "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%." "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," Trump said. "We, of course, expect our Trading Partners to do the same." South Korea's presidential office responded in a statement that the US hasn't officially informed it of the tariff hike plan. It said South Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-Kwan, who is currently visiting Canada, will soon travel to the US for talks with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. The statement said Kim Yong-beom, the presidential chief of staff for policy, will convene a meeting to discuss Trump's announcement. The US president previously imposed the tariffs by declaring an economic emergency and bypassing Congress, while South Korea needed legislative approval for the framework announced in July and affirmed during Trump's October visit to the country. Trump has in the past tied his tariffs to commitments by South Korea to invest USD 350 billion in the US economy over several years, including efforts to revitalise American shipyards. But the Trump administration's relations with South Korea have at times been rocky with the raid last year by immigration officials at a Hyundai manufacturing site in Georgia that caused 475 people to be detained. Monday's announcement of new tariffs fits a pattern in which Trump plans to continue to deploy tariffs, possibly to the detriment of relations with other countries. Just last week, the president threatened tariffs on eight European nations unless the US gained control of Greenland, only to pull back on his ultimatum after meetings at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Trump on Saturday said he would put a 100 per cent tax on goods from Canada if it followed through with plans to bolster trade with China.
