How Trump's tariffs will impact S. Korea's exports after 90-day pause ends

In the meantime, Trump's merciless tariffs are already being reflected in South Korea's exports to the U.S.

Outbound shipments in the first 20 days of April dropped over 14 percent.

Our Lee Soo-jin tells us more.

South Korea's exports declined during the first 20 days of April, reflecting an early impact of the U.S. administration's tariffs on global trade.

According to the Korea Customs Service on Monday, outbound shipments stood at 33-point-9 billion U.S. dollars during this period, down 5-point-2 percent from the previous year.

This, despite the number of working days during the period being the same as last year.

The drop in exports comes as shipments to the U.S. showed a notable drop of 14-point-3 percent year-on-year, which the agency attributed to the tariffs.

The U.S. set a 25 percent "reciprocal tariff" rate on South Korea, but President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on its implementation earlier this month for most nations.

This means that as of now for Korea, a base tariff rate of 10 percent is in place, along with 25 percent tariffs on specific items, namely automobiles, steel and aluminum.

But with these tariffs already contributing to a more than 5 percent year-on-year decline in exports during the first 20 days of April, concern is growing over a sharper downturn once the 90-day pause expires.

"During the 90-day pause, there's uncertainty on two fronts, how the U.S. will proceed, and what kind of negotiations with South Korea will take place. But with base tariffs of 10 percent already in effect since April 6th, export figures aren't expected to improve anytime soon."

Shipments of nine of the country's top ten export items, including automobiles and oil products, all saw declines, while only chip exports rose.

But it's unclear whether shipments of semiconductors will remain strong with Trump expected to announce chip tariffs sometime this week.

"But the tariffs will be in place in the not distant future because, as you know, like we did with steel, like we did with the automobiles, like we did with aluminum, we'll be doing that with semiconductors, with chips, "

The same expert said that because uncertainty is a key factor, in the upcoming trade talks with the U.S., South Korea should not rush to conclude negotiations, but instead focus on understanding Washington's intentions and demands.

Lee Soo-jin, Arirang News.