South Korea will not follow China in fighting back against tariffs imposed by the United States, its leader told CNN in an exclusive interview on Tuesday, as he touted plans to try to secure a deal with President Donald Trump.
The Asian democracy and longtime US ally faces 25% tariffs as part of Trump’s global tariffs rollout this week, which could hammer an export-led economy that fills American homes and roads with brands like Samsung, LG and Hyundai and drive up the cost of those goods for consumers.
Acting President Han Duck-soo, who stepped into the role after his predecessor was ousted over a martial law crisis that is still reverberating across the country, said South Korea “clearly would like to negotiate” with the US and praised the two countries’ “very strong alliance.”
Given his background, it is perhaps not surprising Han leans heavily on economic theory and historical precedent. He repeatedly referenced the last major global trade war in the early 1930s – which was sparked by the US imposing protectionist tariffs and helped trigger a worldwide recession.
“In game theory, just doing things individually may not help the situation to improve,” he said. “We should communicate, cooperate and work together. I think we should try to find a win-win situation.”
Global markets have been sent into a tailspin by Trump’s tariffs, and even usually cautious Asian leaders have spoken in stark terms about how the US is upending international trade.
“It marks a seismic change in the global order,” Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong warned over the weekend, arguing the world is entering a new phase that is “more arbitrary, protectionist and dangerous.”
Asked about that reaction from the nearby trade hub, Han said he was comparatively more sanguine. “Globalization is not dead, it can never be dead,” Han argued.
South Korea is America’s sixth-largest trading partner, with total trade in goods and services reaching $197 billion in 2024, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
Last year, Korean exports to the US hit a record high of $128 billion, led by automobiles and machinery, according to Korean authorities. The US trade deficit with South Korea also surged, reaching $66 billion in 2024.
An economic expert at the helm
But the current tariffs could pose a major challenge even for a seasoned negotiator and trade expert like Han, with Trump’s recent rhetoric reflecting his refusal to bend.
“We can make a really fair deal … a good deal for the United States, not a good deal for others,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “This is America first.”
Senior Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro echoed those remarks, writing in the Financial Times on the same day: “This is not a negotiation. For the US, it is a national emergency triggered by trade deficits caused by a rigged system.”
As nations around the world scramble to strike tariff deals with Trump and launch emergency procedures to soften the economic blow, China has positioned itself as an oppositional force standing up to what it called American “bullying.”
That has alarmed some US leaders and economists, who warn Trump’s tariffs could push countries closer to American rivals – especially since some of the highest tariffs have targeted poorer Asian nations like Vietnam and Cambodia.
The tariffs “drive people into the arms of China, who will offer pretty good trade terms while we’re in the process of conducting this massive tariff carpet bombing,” said James Stavridis, formerly NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander and a partner at global investment firm The Carlyle Group.
“Look at Asia right now. A week ago, we saw Japan, South Korea and … China talking about coordinating their responses to our tariffs. That’s an alignment we don’t want,” he said, referring to the March meeting between the three countries. “We want to hold our allies firm and we want to build the case against our opponents like China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.”
That meeting drew attention due to its timing, just before Trump’s tariff announcement, and because the three countries have had historically fraught diplomatic relations. Tensions have risen in recent years as the US and its partners sought to counter Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific by strengthening alliances and courting smaller nations.
But South Korea and China have also maintained a strong trade relationship. At $133 billion, Korean exports to China last year exceeded even those to the US, government figures show, even though some of those products were eventually exported again after processing.
On Tuesday, Han insisted that the trilateral meeting “was not a very extraordinary one, it was a normal meeting.” He added that the trio often hold ministerial meetings – and it just happened to be the trade ministers’ turn to convene.
“Clearly they might say, what are the implications of this kind of new US policy, but it’s not some kind of coalition of fighting back,” he said – adding that that kind of response could “really contract global trade.”