South Korean officials have asked the Trump administration to exclude their country from U.S. plans to impose aggressive tariffs on trade partners.
The officials emphasized that Seoul is already applying low duties on American products under the free trade agreement between the two nations.
South Korea’s government on Friday, February 21, 2025, said that Deputy Trade Minister, Park Jong-won made the request while traveling to Washington this week for meetings with unspecified officials from the White House, the Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Park cited how South Korean companies were contributing to the U.S. economy through large-scale business investments and noted that the country was already imposing low duties on free trade partners such as the United States.
He called for South Korea to be excluded from U.S. plans to establish reciprocal tariffs with trade partners and raise duties for imported steel and aluminum.
Park touted investments in the United States by South Korean companies and proposed holding high-level meetings with the Trump administration to discuss further cooperation, the ministry said.
He also met with members of Congress and pressed them to maintain incentives for South Korean companies to operate in the United States.
The ministry’s statement said that in the future, the government will continue to consult at a high level on U.S. trade and trade measures, and will respond to minimize damage to Korean companies through close communication with the industry.
South Korea’s top economic think tank this month slashed its growth forecast for the country’s economy for the second time since November, expressing concern about the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s expanding tariffs and other measures aimed at resetting global trade.
The state-run Korea Development Institute projected the national economy to grow by 1.6% in 2025, which was 0.4 percentage points lower than its previous estimate.
The group’s economists assessed that Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs won’t likely have a major impact on South Korea’s economy, as those products account for less than 1% of its exports to the U.S.
However, they expressed concern that possible increases in U.S. duties for semiconductors and cars would hurt the country’s trade-dependent economy more.
South Korea’s acting President, Choi Sang-mok, on Friday called a meeting with trade and foreign policy officials to discuss the potential impact of Trump’s trade measures, including reciprocal tariffs and possible product-specific duties for semiconductors, cars and pharmaceuticals.
Choi, who is also South Korea’s Finance Minister, instructed officials to examine how other major economies, including the European Union, Japan and China, are responding to Trump’s trade policies, and try harder to effectively communicate South Korea’s position to U.S. officials.
South Korea’s trade surplus with the U.S. reached $55.7 billion in 2024.
According to the South Korean trade ministry, the country’s tariff rates on U.S. manufacturing imports is around zero percent.
Choi Sang-mok said last week the country had invested more than any other in the United States in the past two years and that should allow it to negotiate with the Trump administration on tariffs.
Standard Chartered economists said in note, “Given their substantial role in supporting US economic objectives, we think Korea and Japan are in a strong position to seek tariff exemptions,” citing more than 20,000 U.S. jobs South Korea contributed in 2023, more than any other country.
Seoul’s responses to the Trump administration’s moves have been complicated by a political crisis sparked when President Yoon Suk Yeol briefly imposed martial law in December.
Choi, who took over after both Yoon and the prime minister were impeached, has yet to speak directly with Trump.
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