South Korea announced a major breakthrough in its prolonged trade negotiations with the US, following a top-level meeting between the two countries ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in South Korea at the end of October 2025.
US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met in the South Korean city of Gyeongju, where they announced a tentative trade agreement after their teams of negotiators ironed out some of the key outstanding issues.
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The US has now agreed to set duties on imports of goods from South Korea at 15%, down from the previously announced 25%, leaving South Korean manufacturers breathing a huge sigh of relief. The US accounted for roughly 40% of South Korean exports last year, worth some US$ 128 billion.
The breakthrough in the negotiations came as a major relief for South Korea’s biggest automakers, including Hyundai, Kia, and GM Korea, which rely heavily on exports to the US. Last year, the three automakers exported more than 1.5 million vehicles to the US combined.
The deal puts South Korea on a level footing with other major automotive trading partners of the US, including Japan and the EU, which had earlier also agreed to 15% import tariffs.
The breakthrough came after South Korea and the US reached an agreement on the structure of South Korea’s proposed US$ 350 billion investment in the US. This includes major investments and collaboration in shipbuilding, including nuclear submarines, understood to be worth around US$ 150 billion in total, and a further US$ 200 billion in cash investments over a period of ten years.
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By GlobalDataHyundai Motor Group welcomed the trade deal and vowed to continue its current programmes in the US designed to improve its competitiveness. The company said in a statement: “We express our gratitude to the government for its dedicated efforts throughout the difficult negotiation process that led to this agreement. Hyundai Motor and Kia Corporation will continue to pursue multifaceted measures to minimize the impact of tariffs while further strengthening our fundamentals through enhanced quality and brand competitiveness, technological innovation, and other initiatives.”
