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April 2, 2025

Commerce Department imposes 25% duties on Samsung and LG imports

Reuters
Wikipedia

Samsung and LG face 25% tariffs plus Vietnamese production penalties

On Apr. 2, 2025, President Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on South Korean goods, overriding the existing Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (Reuters)

Trump simultaneously applied a 46% duty on imports from Vietnam, affecting South Korean firms with production bases there such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics (Reuters)

Semiconductors, automobiles and auto parts accounted for 42% of South Korea’s total exports to the United States, heightening the economy’s exposure to the new tariffs (Reuters)

Citi estimated that the combined impact of the Apr. 2 tariffs could shave 0.16% off South Korea’s GDP this year, putting its 1.0% growth forecast at risk (Reuters)

🛡️National Security📋Public Policy💰Economy

People, bills, and sources

Donald Trump (President of the United States)

announced reciprocal 25% tariffs on South Korean goods and 46% tariffs on Vietnamese imports on Apr. 2, 2025

Han Duck-soo (Acting President of South Korea)

on Apr. 2, 2025 called for emergency talks with U.S. officials and ordered support measures for export-reliant businesses

Paik Seok-hyun (Economist, Shinhan Bank)

stated the new U.S. tariffs “practically nullified the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement” (Reuters)

Lee Yong-ho (CEO, AIT)

reported his aluminium auto-parts firm has faced extra costs since a 25% U.S. aluminium tariff took effect in Mar. 2025 and likened Korea’s situation to “a ship without a captain” (Reuters)

What you can do

1

Visit the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s Section 301 investigations page at https://ustr.gov to download guidance and submit technical comments ahead of the May 7, 2025 Korea-U.S. meetings

2

Exporters of aluminium auto parts should use the U.S. International Trade Commission’s DataWeb (https://dataweb.usitc.gov) to verify their HTS tariff codes and adjust pricing models for the 25% aluminium duty effective Mar. 2025

3

Search “United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement” on Congress.gov to review the original treaty text and tariff schedules, and to track any legislation or amendments prompted by the Apr. 2, 2025 tariff action