SEOUL (Reuters) : South Korea’s acting President Han Duck-soo called on Thursday for talks with U.S. officials to shield the export-reliant economy from the impact of U.S. tariffs and ordered emergency support measures for businesses.
U.S. President Donald Trump has unveiled global reciprocal tariffs and displayed a 25% rate on South Korea.
Han asked the industry minister to analyse the content of the tariffs and actively negotiate with Washington to minimise the impact, an industry ministry statement said.
“As the global trade war has become a reality, the government must pour all its capabilities to overcome the trade crisis,” Han said at a meeting with the finance minister and other top officials.
Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun called the new tariffs “regrettable” but said Seoul will keep consulting with both senior and working-level U.S. officials on tariffs.
Trump in his speech singled out Washington’s Asian security allies South Korea and Japan, accusing them of being among the worst offenders for conducting unfair trade practices against the United States.
Analysts in Seoul said Trump’s extensive rollout of tariffs would inflict a significant blow on Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
“It is clear that major export products such as automobiles will be hit hard, and exports to the U.S. through production bases in Vietnam will also be hit hard,” Park Sang-hyun, an economist at iM Securities, said in a note.
Trump also announced a 46% duty on imports from Vietnam. South Korea’s major corporations such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have manufacturing bases in the Southeast Asian country.
Citi estimated the new tariffs could shave 0.16% from South Korea’s GDP this year, putting its 1.0% economic growth forecast at risk.
