Korea to 'intensify negotiations' with U.S. after Trump's 25% tariff announcement
Published: 08 Jul. 2025, 09:31
![U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington on April 2. [REUTERS/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/07/08/58dea6d1-5236-4864-9658-b771da7ddb08.jpg)
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington on April 2. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
The Korean government will "intensify negotiations" in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s disclosure of a letter specifying a 25 percent reciprocal tariff on Korean goods.
Early Tuesday, immediately after Trump posted the tariff letter on his social media platform Truth Social, Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy released a statement interpreting the move as an effective extension of the tariff imposition deadline to Aug. 1 and vowing to step up talks.
“Although we have engaged in intensive negotiations based on a ‘national interest first’ principle within the limited time since the new administration took office, it is true that there was insufficient time to reach agreement on all issues,” the Trade Ministry said.
“With this letter, we understand that the imposition of reciprocal tariffs has effectively been deferred until Aug. 1,” the ministry said. “To quickly resolve the uncertainty caused by these tariffs, we will push forward with negotiations to produce mutually beneficial outcomes in the time remaining.”
“We plan to leverage this situation as an opportunity to revitalize core industries by addressing U.S. concerns over trade deficits through domestic policy reform and regulatory rationalization, while advancing a Korea-U.S. manufacturing renaissance partnership."
The ministry also convened an emergency meeting chaired by the first vice minister to assess the sector-by-sector impact of the potential tariffs.
Earlier, Trump sent a letter addressed to President Lee Jae Myung stating that a 25 percent tariff would be imposed on Korean exports starting Aug. 1.
Trump had originally announced on April 2 that a base tariff of 10 percent would be imposed on all trading partners, with additional reciprocal tariffs varying by country or economic bloc — totaling 25 percent for Korea, with 10 percent base and 15 percent additional tariffs.
The newly released letter confirms that the 25 percent rate remains unchanged and that the grace period has effectively been extended by three more weeks.
Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY LEE JI-YOUNG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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