President Lee Jae-myung on the 25th said regarding the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling voiding the reciprocal tariff and the Donald Trump administration's attempt to impose new levies, "Regardless of any situation in the United States, these are promises made between the U.S. president and me, so we will steadily move forward while coordinating our schedule and the U.S. schedule."
According to senior presidential secretary for public affairs Lee Gyu-yeon, President Lee invited the Democratic Party of Korea's senior advisory council to Cheong Wa Dae for a luncheon that day and expressed this position behind closed doors. As the United States is trying to maintain the tariff-imposition status by citing various legal provisions despite the court ruling, this is read as an intention to take a cautious stance based on the existing agreement between Korea and the United States.
Earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Trump's tariffs on countries around the world, imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), were unlawful. In response, President Trump is actively reviewing ways to impose new tariffs by using other legal grounds, including Section 122 of the Trade Act, which allows up to a 15% reciprocal tariff for 150 days on the premise of a "U.S. balance of payments deficit," as well as Section 301 of the Trade Act and Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.
In fact, Trump has said he would raise the already agreed 15% reciprocal tariff back to 25%, citing the Korean National Assembly's delay in handling the special act on U.S.-bound tariffs. In particular, as the House Judiciary Committee the previous day summoned Harold Rogers, acting head of Coupang's Korea unit, to privately investigate the "status of discrimination against Coupang in Korea," the Trump administration could cite "unfair trade practices" and use this as a pretext for imposing tariffs.
Cheong Wa Dae said in a press notice that day, "Ministries including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources are closely communicating with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to monitor developments." Regarding a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report that the Trump administration is concurrently conducting a "national security threat" investigation based on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act related to "item-specific tariffs," and is also reviewing additional tariffs on key sectors such as batteries, power grids, and telecommunications equipment, it said, "As for new tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, there has been no official announcement from the U.S. government to date."
◇Trump says in State of the Union, "Regret the Supreme Court ruling, tariffs will get tougher"
In his first State of the Union address of his second term the previous day (local time), President Trump said of the Supreme Court's ruling that the reciprocal tariff was unlawful, "It is very regrettable, but the good news is that almost all countries and corporations want to keep the deals they have already made." He said there is a "proven alternative" to replace the voided tariffs and added, "Going forward, tariffs will be stronger than before." He also said, "As time goes by, the tariffs other countries pay will substantially replace the current income tax system, as in the past."