President Lee Jae Myung of South Korea speaks at a New Year’s press conference at the Blue House state guesthouse on Jan. 21, 2026. (Yonhap)
US President Donald Trump suggested that the United States will “work something out with South Korea” in connection with plans he announced Wednesday to increase tariffs on South Korean products.
The White House explained that Trump’s remarks were prompted by South Korea not fulfilling its end of the two sides’ previous agreement to lower the tariffs.
At the White House on Wednesday, Trump was asked about his plans to raise tariffs for South Korea before departing on a visit to Iowa. In response, he indicated that the two sides would find a way.
“We’ll work something out with South Korea,” he reiterated.
Observers read his remarks as leaving room for the US to withdraw the tariff increase based on dialogue with Seoul.
The White House reiterated Trump’s position from the day before about South Korea’s failure to honor the agreement it made in exchange for lowering tariffs.
Responding to questions from the Hankyoreh, a White House official said, “The simple reality is that South Korea reached a deal with the Trump administration to secure lower tariffs.”
They went on to say that while the US had indeed lowered tariffs, the “Koreans have made no progress on fulfilling their end of the bargain.”
After reaching a trade agreement with South Korea on July 30 of last year, the US reduced its “reciprocal” tariff on Korean goods entering the US from 25% to 15% around a week later. When South Korea introduced a bill to its National Assembly on Nov. 26 for a special act on US investment to implement the agreement’s follow-up measures, tariffs on automobiles and automobile parts were also lowered from 25% to 15%, effective retroactively from Nov. 1.
Washington’s perspective is that while the US was prompt about executing measures according to the agreement, South Korea has failed to move quickly enough on its promised US$350 billion in US investment.
Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee tied Trump’s remarks to the situation with the retail company Coupang. On the social media site X, Republican representatives on the committee shared a post about Trump’s tariff increase with a message reading, “This is what happens when you unfairly target American companies like Coupang.”
By Kim Won-chul, Washington correspondent
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