Korea's exports may face sharp decline in second half of the year due to US tariffs: expert

Korea may face a substantial decline in exports of key products in the second half of the year if U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed reciprocal tariff policy goes into effect as planned, a trade expert predicted Tuesday. "If the tariff policy of Trump's second term is implemented in earnest, we could see South Korea's exports to the United States contract substantially (in the second half), " said Chang Sang-sik, head of the Korea International Trade Association's International Trade and Commerce Research Center. Chang made the remarks at a Seoul forum hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries. He predicted that exports in automobile and steel sectors could record declines of 7.1 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively, in the July-December period, while auto parts and machinery industries could also see 6.5 percent and 3.8 percent declines, respectively, due to U.S. tariffs. The projection was made in light of Trump's unveiling of a letter addressed to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung earlier in the day, saying that the U.S. will start imposing 25 percent tariffs on all SouthWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times