Trump Hits South Korea with 25% Tariff Over Failure to Meet Trade Deal Commitments & Threatens 100% Tariff on Canada to Dissuade China Deal

Trump Increases South Korea Tariffs Over Failure to Enact Trade Deal

President Trump announced yesterday he’s increasing his reciprocal tariffs on South Korea from 15% to 25%.

In late July, the president announced a trade deal with South Korea with the following bullet points as the key terms of the agreement:

• 15% tariff on South Korean goods imported into the U.S.
• No tariff on U.S. goods exported to South Korea
• South Korea will be completely open for U.S. trade, accepting U.S. products, including automobiles and agricultural goods
• South Korea will give $350 Billion for U.S. owned and controlled investments
• South Korea will buy $100 Billion U.S. energy products
• South Korea will invest a large amount for its own investment purposes

The investment portions of the deal seem to be the tripping points for lawmakers in South Korea’s parliament in following through on South Korea’s obligations under the agreement. Joseph Lord reported in the Epoch Times:

Earlier this month, the South Korean finance minister said the country likely wouldn’t be able to start making the promised investments in the first half of 2026 because of weaknesses in the nation’s won currency.

As the won endures a trade slump last seen during the 2008 global financial crisis, the prospect of large currency outflows to the United States has caused headaches for South Korean authorities.

President Trump doesn’t appear to be accepting any excuses. Here’s what he wrote on Truth Social when announcing that he’s returning tariffs to the 25% rate he’d announced for South Korea on “Liberation Day“:

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. We, of course, expect our Trading Partners to do the same.
 
South Korea’s Legislature is not living up to its Deal with the United States. President Lee and I reached a Great Deal for both Countries on July 30, 2025, and we reaffirmed these terms while I was in Korea on October 29, 2025. Why hasn’t the Korean Legislature approved it?
 
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, from 15% to 25%. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
 
DONALD J. TRUMP
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Trump Says He’ll Impose 100% Tariff on Canada If It Makes Deal with China

A 25% tariff is small compared to the 100% tariff President Trump threatened Canada with should it enter a trade deal with China.

This comes after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with President Xi Jinping of China and signed agreements to cut tariffs on Chinese EV imports. Omid Ghoreishi reported in an Epoch Times article:

Prior to arriving in Davos [for the World Economic Forum a week ago], Carney met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, where he signed a series of agreements that included slashing tariffs on Chinese EV imports from 100 percent to 6.1 percent for the first 49,000 units, in exchange for China cutting tariffs on Canadian canola from 85 percent to 15 percent until at least the end of the year. While in Beijing, Carney said Canada–China relations are entering a “new era,” and that Ottawa’s pursuit of a partnership with China “sets us up well for the new world order.”

Over the weekend, President Trump threw up a roadblock on PM Carney’s way to his “new world order.”

Along with a link to a Just the News article that is critical of Carney’s new agreement with China with its promises of increased trade and investment between the countries, Trump posted his threat of a 100% tariff on all Canadian goods should Canada make a trade deal with China:

If Governor Carney thinks he is going to make Canada a “Drop Off Port” for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken. China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life. If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the U.S.A. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
President DJT

Within a few hours, President Trump added another Truth Social post on the subject:

The last thing the World needs is to have China take over Canada. It’s NOT going to happen, or even come close to happening! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J.TRUMP

It didn’t take long for what sounded like compliance to President Trump’s demand to come from Prime Minister Carney…

Canada Has No Intention of Making Free Trade Deal with China Says Carney

Olivia Gomm reported in an Epoch Times article Monday, which was updated yesterday, about Carney telling reporters how Canada is committed to its agreements under the USMCA not to pursue free trade agreements with non-market-economy countries and it has no intention of pursuing one with China:

Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada does not intend to pursue a free trade agreement with China, after U.S. President Donald Trump said Canadian goods would be hit with 100 percent U.S. tariffs if Canada “makes a deal with China.”

Carney told reporters ahead of a Liberal caucus meeting in Ottawa on Jan. 25 that Canada has commitments under the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) “not to pursue free trade agreements with non–market economies without prior notification.”

“We have no intention of doing that with China or any other non–market economy,” Carney said. “What we’ve done with China is to rectify some issues that developed in the last couple of years.”

Conclusion

While tariffs aren’t in the news as heavily as they have been through much of the first year of President Trump’s second term, they are still very much a volatile topic for shippers to watch. President Trump uses both the implementation of new tariffs and the threat of tariff hikes for various geopolitical negotiations and purposes, like warning Canada not to enter a trade deal with China or to get the Greenland deal he achieved last week.

Tariff news is a lot to keep up with, but Universal Cargo’s blog is one place shippers can look to help them stay informed.