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SRCSouth China Morning Post
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MON · 2026-01-26 · 23:39 GMTBRIEF NSR-2026-0127-10802
News/Is Trump pressuring South Korea to lock /Trump raises tariffs on South Korea to 25% as country ‘is no…
NSR-2026-0127-10802News Report·EN·Economic Impact

Trump raises tariffs on South Korea to 25% as country ‘is not living up’ to trade deal

President Trump announced on Monday that he would raise tariffs on imports from South Korea to 25%, citing the country's failure to enact their historic trade agreement. The tariffs, which had previously decreased to 15%, will increase on autos, lumber, pharmaceuticals, and other reciprocal tariffs.

Mark MagnierSouth China Morning PostFiled 2026-01-26 · 23:39 GMTLean · Center-RightRead · 1 min
Trump raises tariffs on South Korea to 25% as country ‘is not living up’ to trade deal
South China Morning PostFIG 01
Reading time
1min
Word count
231words
Sources cited
2cited
Entities identified
7entities
Quality score
100%
§ 01

Briefing Summary

AI-generated
NEWSAR · AI

President Trump announced on Monday that he would raise tariffs on imports from South Korea to 25%, citing the country's failure to enact their historic trade agreement. The tariffs, which had previously decreased to 15%, will increase on autos, lumber, pharmaceuticals, and other reciprocal tariffs. Trump claims South Korea has not lived up to its trade deal obligations, despite the US having reduced its tariffs. The agreement was finalized after Trump met with South Korean counterpart Lee Jae Myung last autumn, and included investment commitments from South Korea alongside tariff cuts by the United States. Trump previously imposed 10% tariffs on South Korea after declaring an economic emergency and bypassing US Congressional approval.

Confidence 0.90Sources 2Claims 5Entities 7
§ 02

Article analysis

Model · rule-based
Framing
Economic Impact
Political Strategy
Tone
Measured
AI-assessed
CalmNeutralAlarmist
Factuality
0.70 / 1.00
Factual
LowHigh
Sources cited
2
Limited
FewMany
§ 03

Key claims

5 extracted
01

The agreement included investment commitments from South Korea alongside tariff cuts by the United States.

factual
Confidence
1.00
02

Seoul needed legislative approval for the framework deal announced in July.

factual
Confidence
1.00
03

Trump said he would raise tariffs on imports from South Korea to 25%.

quoteUS President Donald Trump
Confidence
1.00
04

Trump previously imposed 10 per cent tariffs on South Korea after declaring an economic emergency.

factual
Confidence
0.90
05

Tariffs had declined to 15 per cent.

factual
Confidence
0.90
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Full report

1 min read · 231 words
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would raise tariffs on imports from South Korea, accusing the country of “not living up to its deal” with the US. Tariffs had declined to 15 per cent but, assuming his threat is carried out, will jump back to 25 per cent.“Because the Korean Legislature hasn’t enacted our Historic Trade Agreement, which is their prerogative, I am hereby increasing South Korean TARIFFS on Autos, Lumber, Pharma, and all other Reciprocal TARIFFS,” he wrote on social media.The 79-year-old president previously imposed 10 per cent tariffs on South Korea after declaring an economic emergency and bypassing US Congressional approval.Seoul, however, needed legislative approval for the framework deal announced in July, which was subsequently affirmed during Trump’s October visit to the country when he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.“Our Trade Deals are very important to America. In each of these Deals, we have acted swiftly to reduce our TARIFFS in line with the Transaction agreed to,” Trump said. “We, of course, expect our Trading Partners to do the same.”Trump says China and other countries trading with Iran to face additional 25% tariffsTrump says China and other countries trading with Iran to face additional 25% tariffsThe agreement was finalised after Trump met his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jae Myung, last autumn, and included investment commitments from South Korea alongside tariff cuts by the United States.
§ 05

Entities

7 identified
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Keywords & salience

8 terms
tariffs
1.00
trade deal
0.80
south korea
0.80
trade agreement
0.70
imports
0.60
legislative approval
0.50
economic emergency
0.50
trade
0.40
§ 07

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