TIMELINE: Trump's new South Korea tariff threats underscore see-sawing trade negotiations

Here are some key events in trade negotiations between the United States and South Korea, starting with U.S. President Donald Trump's initial tariff threat in April 2025 to his latest one in January 2026:

April 2, 2025

President Trump unveiled tariffs against major trading partners, including a 25% duty on imports from South Korea, in his "Liberation Day" announcement.

April 25, 2025

South Korea agreed with the U.S. to craft a trade package by early July at their first round of negotiations.

July 30, 2025

Seoul reached a preliminary trade agreement with Washington, which included South Korea's $350 billion investment in the United States but without written confirmation of details, sparking disputes. The deal lowered country-specific tariffs on South Korea to 15% but left auto tariffs at 25%.

August 25, 2025

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who took office on June 4, held his first summit with Trump. The talks ended without any explosive clash after Trump's threatening comments made just hours before the meeting, but also without concrete agreements on the details of the investment package.

September 4, 2025

U.S. immigration authorities raided a Hyundai Motor 005380.KS car battery factory construction site in the state of Georgia and arrested some 300 South Korean workers, an incident which Lee said made South Korean firms hesitant about investing in the United States.

September 22, 2025

Lee told Reuters in an interview that South Korea could fall into a crisis rivalling its 1997 meltdown if the government accepted U.S. demands regarding the $350 billion investment package without foreign exchange safeguards.

October 29, 2025

Trump and Lee finalised details of their trade deal, which included currency safeguards demanded by Seoul, at their second meeting held on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation grouping in South Korea.

November 14, 2025

The U.S. and South Korea released a joint statement on agreements made at the October summit and signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding on the $350 billion investment package.

November 26, 2025

South Korea's ruling Democratic Party introduced a bill to establish a special fund to finance the $350 billion investment package, which also lowered U.S. tariffs on auto imports from South Korea to 15%.

November 29, 2025

Coupang CPNG.N, the biggest online retailer in South Korea, said it learned of a breach of personal information from 33.7 million customer accounts, triggering a backlash from South Korean lawmakers and a wide-ranging investigation by authorities, which the U.S.-listed company said was discrimination against an American company.

January 14, 2026

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made a rare comment on the recent depreciation in the South Korean won KRW=, after discussing the "full and faithful" implementation of their trade deal with South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol.

January 16, 2026

South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol told Reuters in an interview that the $350 billion investment package was unlikely to kick off in the first half of 2026, citing currency volatility.

January 23, 2026

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said U.S. Vice President JD Vance had requested that questions over Coupang be resolved fairly to avoid tension.

January 26, 2026

Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social he was raising tariffs on U.S. imports of South Korean autos and other goods, blaming the legislature of an ally and a major trading partner for dragging its feet on enacting a deal to implement the $350 billion investment package.

-Jihoon Lee/Reuters