U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 26th (local time) that he would impose a 25% tariff on foreign cars imported into the United States. The automobile is the third item to have tariffs imposed since Trump took office, following the steel and aluminum tariffs that went into effect on the 12th.
On the same day, President Trump met with reporters at the White House and noted, "We will charge expense to the countries that have stolen jobs and wealth from our country over the past several years," and signed a related executive order, saying, "Allied countries have treated us far worse than enemy countries."
He reiterated that the date he announced reciprocal tariffs, the 2nd, would be called "Liberation Day," stating, "Today marks the beginning of America's liberation."
This tariff will inevitably impact South Korea, where automobiles make up a large portion of exports to the U.S. Last year, South Korea's automobile exports to the U.S. amounted to $34.744 billion (about 51 trillion won), accounting for 49.1% of the global automobile export volume, including the U.S.