President Donald J. Trump announced an immediate increase in tariffs on key South Korean exports, including autos, lumber, and pharmaceuticals, from 15% to 25%, citing Seoul’s failure to ratify the “Historic Trade Agreement” he negotiated with President Lee Jae-myung on July 30, 2025, and reaffirmed during his October 29, 2025, visit to Korea. In a forceful Truth Social post, Trump emphasized that the U.S. will no longer tolerate one-sided deals where allies delay implementation.

The President directly criticized South Korea’s National Assembly for stalling on the bilateral pact, which was designed to reduce tariffs mutually and strengthen economic ties, building on the existing KORUS FTA framework with added market access, intellectual property protections, and reductions in non-tariff barriers. Despite U.S. compliance, Seoul has failed to enact ratification or implementing legislation, leaving the deal in limbo months past the agreed timeline.

Trump framed the tariff hike as a principled enforcement of his America First trade agenda. “In each of these Deals, we have acted swiftly to reduce our TARIFFS in line with the Transaction agreed to. We, of course, expect our Trading Partners to do the same,” he wrote. The across-the-board increase to 25% targets South Korea’s largest export sectors to the U.S. automobiles (Hyundai, Kia, Genesis), lumber products, and pharmaceuticals, both to pressure Seoul into action and protect American industries from unfair delays.

The move underscores Trump’s broader approach to trade: reciprocity, accountability, and leveraging tariffs as a tool to enforce agreements, signaling that even long-standing allies will face consequences if they fail to honor commitments to U.S. economic interests.