Seoul: South Korea’s exports have decreased by 4.3 percent year-on-year during the first ten days of August, as revealed by the latest data on Monday. This decline is partially attributed to reduced shipments to the United States amid escalating tariff measures.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korea Customs Service reported that outbound shipments reached approximately $14.7 billion between August 1 and August 10, compared to $15.4 billion in the same period last year. Meanwhile, imports dropped by 13.6 percent to $15.9 billion, leading to a trade deficit of $1.2 billion.
Despite the overall decrease in exports, the average daily export volume increased by 9.3 percent during the period. The number of working days was seven this year, one less than last year’s eight days.
Exports to China, South Korea’s largest trading partner, fell by 10 percent year-on-year to $2.88 billion. Shipments to the United States saw a significant drop of 14.2 percent, falling to $2.07 billion, as a result of tariff measures implemented by President Donald Trump’s administration.
The Korea Customs Service indicated that it might take time to evaluate whether exports to the U.S. will improve following a recent tariff agreement reached in late July. As part of the deal, Washington agreed to reduce its proposed 25 percent tariff on South Korean imports to 15 percent, contingent on South Korea’s $350 billion investment in the U.S.
The agency noted that since the reduced tariff rate of 15 percent only took effect last Thursday, the data from August 1 to 10 does not reflect the impact of the new tariff agreement directly. “Some exporters may have expedited shipments before the tariff measures took effect, which contributed to the increase in the daily average exports,” an official from the agency commented.
Breaking down by item, semiconductor exports increased by 12 percent year-on-year to $3.89 billion, making up 26.5 percent of the total exports for the period, a rise of 3.9 percentage points from the previous year. Automobile exports rose by 8.5 percent to $950 million, while vessel shipments surged by 81.3 percent to $1.12 billion.
Conversely, exports of steel products declined by 18.8 percent to $863 million, and petrochemical product shipments decreased by 19.4 percent to $1.22 billion.
In July, South Korea’s exports grew by 5.9 percent from a year earlier to $60.8 billion, driven by strong global demand for semiconductors, despite the challenges posed by the U.S. tariff scheme.