Korean officials express regret over failure to secure 12.5% car tariff

Kim Yong-beom, the Deputy Minister of the Presidential Office, noted on the 31st that "the Korean delegation argued for a 12.5% tariff rate on automobiles, but U.S. President Donald Trump did not accept it and decided on a uniform rate of 15%."

On that day, Deputy Minister Kim said at a briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office, "We did our best to argue for 12.5%, but that was as far as we could go," expressing that it was "a disappointing part."

Korea had been receiving tariff-free benefits under the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) for automobiles. However, as a result of this tariff negotiation, Korean cars will be subject to tariffs at the same level as Japan and the European Union (EU), which had been paying a tariff of 2.5%.