U.S. sets 15% tariff on Korean autos, retroactive

Dec 04, 2025, 10:41 am

		0
The U.S. Federal Register on December 3 publishes a notice adjusting tariffs on Korean-made automobiles and auto parts to 15 percent, retroactive to November 1. / Source: U.S. Federal Register

The United States has finalized a 15 percent tariff on Korean-made automobiles and auto parts, retroactive to 12:01 a.m. on November 1 (EST), by posting the adjustment in the Federal Register on December 3.

The notice takes legal effect upon official publication on December 4.

The Federal Register also confirms that the U.S. will lower its country-specific reciprocal tariff rate on South Korea from 25 percent to 15 percent.

Tariff cuts on aircraft, aircraft parts, logs, lumber and wood products will apply retroactively from 12:01 a.m. on November 14. For aircraft and aircraft parts, all items covered under the WTO Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft — except unmanned aerial vehicles — will be exempt from reciprocal tariffs as well as duties on steel, aluminum and copper.

Tariffs on logs, lumber and other wood products will be capped at a maximum of 15 percent.

Follow-up step to the Gyeongju summit fact sheet

The tariff adjustments follow the Joint Fact Sheet issued on November 13 (KST), after the Korea–U.S. summit held in Gyeongju on October 29.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a December 1 statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the United States “will lower certain tariffs, including setting auto tariffs at 15 percent effective November 1, under the terms of the agreement.”

Lutnick added that the U.S. would also “eliminate tariffs on aircraft parts and ‘un-stack’ the existing reciprocal tariff on Korea to align it with those applied to Japan and the European Union.”

#15% auto tariff #Retroactive application #U.S.–Korea trade adjustments