Korea Mentioned…"Trump to Announce 'More Targeted' Tariffs on the 2nd of Next Month"

"Mentioned as Unfair Countries: Korea, China, Japan, EU, etc."

Bloomberg Reports Citing Officials

A local report has emerged suggesting that the tariff measures that U.S. President Donald Trump will announce on the 2nd of next month will be 'more targeted' rather than comprehensive. Although it is not yet clear which countries will be included, it has been reported that Korea was mentioned as an unfair country when the U.S. side was discussing this issue.

On the 22nd (local time), Bloomberg News, citing aides and insiders, reported that officials familiar with the matter said this announcement would significantly expand U.S. tariffs but would be more focused than the all-encompassing and global measures previously hinted at by President Trump.

President Trump is expected to announce broad reciprocal tariffs, but some countries will be excluded, and at this point, plans to impose separate tariffs on specific industries will not be included in this announcement, officials said. One official stated that countries that do not impose tariffs on the U.S. and those with which the U.S. has a trade surplus will be excluded from the tariff targets. However, another official noted that the announced tariff rates are expected to take effect immediately to achieve immediate impact.

An aide repeatedly mentioned last week the internal "negotiations" on how to implement the tariff program, stating that President Trump, who most frequently signals hawkish intentions, is showing interest in raising tariffs as a source of revenue. On the 21st, at the White House, President Trump said, "April 2nd will be a day of liberation. We have been exploited by all countries around the world, allies and foes alike," and stated that this measure would bring in "tens of billions of dollars" in revenue.

Another aide mentioned that the tariff measures could bring in trillions of dollars in revenue over a decade.

Officials acknowledged that the recent list of tariff countries might not be universal and that existing tariffs already imposed on industries like steel may not necessarily be cumulative, which could significantly reduce the tariff burden on those industries, Bloomberg reported.

Bloomberg noted that it is still unclear which countries will be included in the more selective approach, with one official mentioning that during discussions on this issue, the European Union (EU), Mexico, Japan, Korea, Canada, India, and China were pointed out as unfair trade countries.

Previously, Kevin Hassett, Chairman of the White House National Economic Council (NEC), said in an interview with Fox Business, "The market needs to change its expectation that very high tariffs will be imposed on all countries," adding, "Not all countries cheat us in trade. Only a few do, so tariffs will only be imposed on those countries."

Furthermore, President Trump stated that auto tariffs would be announced at the same time as reciprocal tariffs, but currently, tariffs on sectors such as automobiles, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and lumber are not scheduled to be announced on the 2nd of next month, officials said.

Hye-won Ahn, Hankyung.com Reporter anhw@hankyung.com