U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that he will complete trade negotiations with Japan, leading to increased investment sentiment in automotive stocks such as Hyundai Motor and Kia. This is interpreted as a sign of growing expectations for the conclusion of the Korea-U.S. trade negotiations.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 23rd, at 9:24 a.m. on that day, Hyundai was trading at 215,000 won, up by 8,500 won (4.12%) from the previous trading day. At the same time, Kia was also trading at 102,000 won, up by 4,100 won (4.19%) compared to the previous trading day.
President Trump said on the 22nd (local time) through his social media platform Truth Social, “We just completed a massive agreement with Japan. It may be the largest deal yet in our discussions.”
President Trump explained that the reciprocal tariff on Japan is 15%. This is a level that has decreased by 10 percentage points from the previously announced 25%. He noted that Japan is expected to invest $550 billion in the U.S., which will create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
As a result, there is growing interest in the possibility that the reciprocal tariff rate on Korea will also be set at a similar level, alongside whether the 25% tariff rate imposed by the U.S. on imported cars since April could exempt Japanese or Korean cars.