South Korea holds emergency meeting to respond to US tariffs
Asia’s fourth-largest economy is among the nations most vulnerable to protectionist policies as its economy is heavily reliant on earnings from abroad
[SEOUL] South Korea’s interim leader Han Duck-soo urged officials to actively engage in negotiations with the US after President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs on trading partners that included higher duties for Seoul.
“This is a very serious situation where a global tariff war has become a reality. The government must pour all of its capabilities into overcoming the trade crisis,” Han told officials in a meeting convened on Thursday (Apr 3) shortly after Trump’s tariffs announcement.
Trump said on Wednesday in Washington that he will apply a minimum 10 per cent tariff on all imports to the US and slap additional duties on around 60 nations with the largest trade imbalances with the US. That includes substantially higher rates on some of the country’s biggest trading partners, such as China – which now faces a tariff of at least 54 per cent on many goods – the European Union and Vietnam.
South Korea is among the countries hit with larger tariffs at 25 per cent, along with Japan at 24 per cent, India at 26 per cent and Cambodia at 49 per cent.
“My sense is that compared to other countries, Korea was treated unfairly,” said Yeo Han-koo, a former South Korean trade minister who is now a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “I think there has to be a process where two countries sit down and come up with more favourable conditions.”
South Korea is among the nations most vulnerable to protectionist policies as its economy is heavily reliant on earnings from abroad. Further hampering Seoul’s ability to cope with the crisis, trade risks are increasing at a time when South Korea is still reeling from the disruptive impact of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s short-lived declaration of martial law in December.
After months of political uncertainties, the Constitutional Court will announce on Friday whether Yoon will be permanently ousted from office or restored to power as the nation’s president. Yoon’s political gamble has left Asia’s fourth-largest economy without a clear policy direction while other countries scramble to deal with Trump’s tariff campaign.
The new tariffs will take effect after midnight Saturday and the higher duties will kick in at 12.01 am on Apr 9, the White House said. BLOOMBERG
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