South Korea scrambles for Rubio talks as 25% tariff threat looms

Cho Hyun landed in Washington with a packed agenda, but one item has been crowding out the rest: tariffs.

South Korea’s foreign minister met Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday on the sidelines of a US-led ministerial meeting focused on critical minerals supply chains. In a readout, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Cho briefed Rubio on domestic steps to implement the tariff agreement and on South Korea’s investment commitments in the United States.

The outreach comes after President Donald Trump threatened to lift tariffs on South Korean goods to 25% from 15%, arguing that legislation needed to implement last year’s deal has been moving too slowly through the National Assembly. The framework, announced after meetings between Trump and President Lee Jae Myung, includes a large South Korean investment package in return for lower tariffs and other cooperation. 

That special bill has become the pressure point. South Korean officials have said the investment funding needs a legal vehicle, while US officials have framed the delay as a sign that the commitments are not locked in. Korean media have reported that the ruling party is pushing to pass the legislation by late February or early March. 

Cho is not the only messenger in Washington. Last week, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan traveled to the US for talks with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and South Korea’s trade envoy has also been engaging with the US trade team. The visits signal that Seoul is trying to keep the tariff issue from spilling into other parts of the alliance, including supply chain cooperation and defense coordination.

For South Korea, the stakes are practical. A higher tariff rate would hit exporters that rely on US demand, with autos and auto parts among the most exposed categories. For Washington, the talks are a test of whether the investment-heavy deal Trump touted last year can survive domestic politics in Seoul.

The next milestone is legislative timing. If lawmakers move quickly, Seoul can argue it has delivered what the deal requires. If the bill drags, the tariff threat becomes harder to treat as negotiation leverage and easier to treat as policy.