[930MBC News]
◀ Anchor ▶
President Trump announced that he would raise tariffs on Korean products to 25%, stating that this decision is due to Korea. The U.S. Republican Party also mentioned Coupang.
President Trump indicated the possibility of dialogue with Korea just a day after announcing the increase.
Here is reporter Yoon Sung-chul.
◀ Report ▶
A White House official attributed the sudden announcement of tariff increases on Korea to the Korean side.
In response to Yonhap News’ inquiry about this tariff increase, the official clarified, “President Trump reduced tariffs, but Korea hasn’t made any progress in fulfilling its pledged obligations in return.”
The White House official also stated, “The simple reality is that Korea reached an agreement with the Trump administration to secure lower tariffs.”
However, they did not comment on the specific timing of the tariff increases mentioned by President Trump.
The day before, President Trump had stated that the Korean legislature was not implementing the Korea-U.S. agreement, announcing an increase in item-specific tariffs on automobiles, lumber, and pharmaceuticals from 15% to 25%, along with reciprocal tariffs on Korea.
An explanation for why President Trump abruptly reversed the trade agreement with Korea has also emerged for the first time.
The U.S. House Republican Judiciary Committee shared President Trump’s statement on increasing tariffs on Korea through their official social media, noting, “This is what happens when American companies like Coupang are unfairly targeted.”
This suggests a connection between the tariff increase announcement and Korea’s actions to hold Coupang accountable for a massive personal information leak.
Nevertheless, President Trump indicated the possibility of dialogue with Korea just a day after the tariff increase announcement.
[Donald Trump/U.S. President]
“We will find a point of agreement. We’ll work out a solution with Korea somehow.”
There is speculation that the U.S. might be concerned about the difficulty of easily securing Korea’s annual $20 billion investment limit in the U.S. this year.
This has been MBC News with Yoon Sung-chul.
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