The US will reinstate retaliatory tariffs to the pre-agreement level of 25% if South Korea does not make progress in resolving non-tariff barriers.

On February 9, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun stated that U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer had informed him that the U.S. would reinstate retaliatory tariffs to the pre-agreement level of 25% if South Korea did not make progress in resolving non-tariff barriers.

According to Foreign Minister Cho, Greer affirmed that the US would reinstate tariffs to 25% (from the current 15%) if South Korea continued to delay. Previously, the two sides had agreed on a preferential tariff rate of 15% in exchange for a commitment of $350 billion in investment from Seoul. However, President Donald Trump has warned of raising tariffs because the bill implementing the agreement has been stalled in Congress since the end of November 2025.

The U.S. Trade Representative reiterated the non-tariff barriers that South Korea needs to address, including regulations on digital platform services (such as Google), agricultural quarantine measures, and certification requirements for automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and other sectors. The U.S. is concerned that South Korea's efforts to tighten regulations on digital services are discriminatory and called for a relaxation of existing regulations.

Mr. Greer emphasized that the US cannot devote too much time to the South Korean market due to negotiations with many other countries.

In the face of these pressures, Foreign Minister Cho affirmed that the South Korean Cabinet is considering the issue very seriously and will soon take decisive steps. In addition, he received confirmation from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that an interdisciplinary US delegation will visit South Korea in February 2026 to negotiate Seoul's rights to civilian uranium enrichment and nuclear fuel reprocessing.

Source: VTV

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