Since the so-called US ‘Liberation Day’ tariff announcements earlier this month, economists and market participants have anxiously searched for signals measuring the potential impact on global trade. Based on preliminary data covering the first 20 days of April released by the South Korean Customs Service, the trend is already negative. After rising 5.5% year-on-year in March 2025, April exports fell 5.2%. South Korean exports to the US fell 14.3% year-on-year, while rising 13.8% in the EU. Driven in large measure by higher-end semiconductors supporting AI systems, exports to Taiwan rose 22%.
Source: South Korean Customs Service, April 2025