Trump Threatens Tariff Hikes on South Korea Over Stalled Trade Deal

President Donald Trump announced Monday that he would raise tariffs on South Korean goods, citing the country's failure to secure legislative approval for a trade framework the two nations had agreed to last July. The new levies would target automobiles, lumber, and pharmaceutical products specifically, while tariffs on all other South Korean imports would jump from 15 percent to 25 percent.

Trump has moved unilaterally on tariffs before, declaring an economic emergency to bypass Congress and impose the duties himself. South Korea, by contrast, requires its national assembly to ratify such agreements—a process that has stalled. In a social media post, Trump framed the move as a matter of principle: the US had reduced its own tariffs in line with the deal, and he expected South Korea to reciprocate by moving its legislative process forward. "Our Trade Deals are very important to America," he wrote, emphasizing that trading partners needed to act with the same speed Washington had shown.

The announcement fits a broader pattern of tariff deployment that has defined Trump's approach to trade negotiations. Just days earlier, he had threatened 100 percent tariffs on Canadian goods if the country deepened its trade ties with China. The previous week, he had pressured eight European nations with tariff threats over Greenland, only to walk back the ultimatum after meetings at the World Economic Forum in Davos. These moves signal that 2026 will likely see continued volatility in global trade, with tariffs wielded as a tool to bend other nations to American demands.

Trump has previously tied South Korean tariff relief to a commitment from the country to invest $350 billion in the US economy over several years, including funding for American shipyard revitalization. Relations between the two countries have been strained, however. Last year, immigration officials conducted a raid at a Hyundai manufacturing facility in Georgia, detaining 475 workers. That operation underscored the broader friction beneath the surface of the trade negotiations.

South Korea's presidential office responded cautiously, stating that the US had not formally notified the country of the tariff increase plan. The government said Industry Minister Kim Jung-Kwan, currently in Canada, would soon travel to Washington for talks with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. A presidential policy chief was convening a meeting to discuss Trump's announcement, signaling that Seoul was treating the threat seriously and preparing a diplomatic response.

The broader context reveals a trade landscape in constant flux. Many of Trump's heavily promoted trade deals remain unfinalized. The European Parliament has not yet approved a trade agreement that would impose 15 percent tariffs on most goods from the EU's 27 member states. The US is preparing to renegotiate its 2020 trade pact with Canada and Mexico. Pending Section 232 investigations under a 1962 law remain open, and a Supreme Court decision looms on whether Trump exceeded his constitutional authority by declaring tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act. That ruling could reshape the entire landscape of his tariff strategy, but for now, the pattern is clear: tariffs are Trump's preferred instrument for reshaping trade relationships, and no partner—large or small—is exempt from the threat.