South Korea

President Trump Threatens New Round of Tariffs Over the Weekend: Here’s the Latest

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 13:39:35 GMT

U.S. commodity markets were down to start the week in Sunday night trade as the markets digested the latest tariff announcement by President Donald Trump. On Saturday, President Trump threatened to impose 30% tariffs on Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1. The announcement came after a string of new tariff threats last week, as the Trump administration’s deadline for trade deals came due.

On Monday, President Trump continued with tariff talk, saying he would implement “severe tariffs” on Russia unless a peace deal is reached with Ukraine within 50 days.

He provided few details on how they would be implemented but described them as 100% secondary tariffs, meaning they would target Russia’s trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy.

The latest tariff threats weren’t good news for farmers looking to price fertilizer for fall, as StoneX Group says Russia is the United States’ top destination for both urea and UAN imports. StoneX points out Russia’s market chair has “grown substantially in recent years.”

Monday’s news follows a week where many anticipated trade deals. Instead, President Trump made a series of announcements with new tariffs. The new tariffs on Mexico and the European Union, which Trump announced Saturday, capped off a week of sweeping tariff threats.

Earlier in the week, Trump warned of a possible:

50% tariff on all copper imports
50% tariff on all goods from Brazil
35% tariff on Canadian goods
25% tariff on goods from Japan
25% tariff on imports from South Korea
200% tariff on imported pharmaceuticals

The positive side of the announcements is the Trump administration says any products covered under the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (UMCA) won’t face the new tariffs.

President Trump also sent letters to both Japan and South Korea last week, saying their goods will be taxed at 25% starting August 1st.

The President posted the two letters he sent to those countries’ leaders on his Truth Social site. In the letter to South Korea, he stated when it comes to Korea’s tariff and non-tariff polices and trade barriers, the relationship between the two countries has been far from reciprocal. He added the 25% tariff was far less than what he says is needed to eliminate a trade deficit disparity.

The letter to Japan added if Japanese companies decide to build or manufacture a product within the U.S., there will be no tariffs. Japanese and U.S. negotiators have been working for several weeks to try and reach a deal.

Lack of Progress Impacts Commodity Prices
The lack of trade announcements last week was just one factor that caused corn prices to tank, according to AgMarket.net’s Matt Bennett. While rain in the upper Corn Belt was also bearish for the markets, little to no movement on trade is also pressuring prices.

“We had no trade announcements, and then we continued to talk about tariffs. The unfortunate reality right now is it appears the administration is playing the long game, trying to get people to come to the table with better trade deals than what we currently have seen. But it certainly isn’t doing any favors for the corn market,” Bennett said on U.S. Farm Report this weekend. “I think something like a big trade agreement certainly could tilt the tide more in the favor of the corn market moving higher. Until you get that, with weather being as good as what it is, there’s nothing there.”

It’s not all bearish, though. Arlan Suderman of StoneX Group says the 50% tariff on Brazil is actually bullish for beef.

“We already have a shortage of protein in America with the cattle herd being shrinking over recent years because of lingering drought in the western half of the country, and supplies are tight. We’re just getting to the point of trying to rebuild those supplies, which holding back heifers, tightens up the supply of meat even more. We’re feeding to record-high carcass weights to try to fill the void. We’re increasing imports to record levels. Brazil is the primary supplier of those imports: 27% of our imports come from Brazil in the first five months of the year, according to the latest data we have available, that’s 666 million pounds. That’s 4% of consumption,” Suderman says.

If you think 4% doesn’t sound like a big deal, Suderman says it is - especially considering meat demand in the U.S. has turned out to be inelastic.

“We’ve been shifting from a starch-based diet more heavily toward protein-based. And as the prices go up, we’re actually increasing demand for beef and the other proteins - but we don’t have the supply of it. I think that could be a real problem going forward for the meat industry and the meat supply. We will have to find somewhere else to get that meat,” Suderman says.

Are Trade Deals Close?

While President Trump initially stated he had reached trade agreements with 200 countries, only a few have been officially announced. These include deals with China, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam, however. Negotiations with other countries are ongoing, with the administration extending the deadline for tariff-related negotiations to August 1.

The European Union says it was working on sealing a trade deal with the U.S. by the end of this month, and the European Commission president says the EU was working closely with the Trump administration to reach a deal.

Global Demand for Cheese Continues to Climb

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 16:00:00 GMT

People can’t get enough cheese, regardless of what continent they live on. Cheese has long been a staple in many countries’ cuisine, and in those cultures where cheese has more recently been introduced, demand continues to rise. “Global cheese demand just keeps climbing,” said Sarina Sharp, analyst with the Daily Dairy Report.

According to USDA’s semi-annual Dairy: World Markets and Trade report, global cheese consumption is projected to reach a new record high of 21.6 million metric tons, or 47.7 billion pounds, this year. Compared to 2023, global cheese consumption is up 1.2% and compared to 2019, it’s up 5.7%.

“Global cheese production is rising even faster than demand, and the United States is the major contributor to the surplus,” Sharp noted. USDA expects that U.S. cheese production will be 9.8% greater in 2024 than it was in 2019, outpacing growth in domestic consumption, which is likely to rise 8.3%. During the same period, foreign cheese output is projected to grow 4.2%, which will not keep pace with the expected 4.6% increase in foreign cheese consumption.”

Sharp’s math makes it clear that the U.S. cheese industry will continue to depend on exports, but she quickly adds that the news on going forward is positive. USDA expects that each of the world’s major cheese importers will import at least as much cheese this year as they did in 2023.

“However, slower economic growth and waning populations have softened demand in key Asian markets. Although Japan and South Korea are likely to import more cheese this year than they did in 2023, their imports are expected to still fall short of 2020, 2021, and 2022 volumes,” Sharp said. “Somewhat softer demand from these markets will likely be offset by record-setting imports from Mexico and China and record-tying purchases from Russia, the world’s second-largest market for imported cheese.”

USDA expects U.S. cheese exports to climb 7.6% this year to a record high. In late 2023, U.S. cheese prices declined even as values climbed in Europe and Oceania. That price gap will likely provide U.S. exporters with some new business in the first half of 2024.

“To keep product moving, though, prices will have to stay low enough to retain buyers’ attention,” Sharp said. “Strong exports this year could help lift the U.S. cheese market from its recent depression, but with cheese output heavy on both sides of the Atlantic, the ceiling on the cheese market will likely need to be quite low.”

For more on milk prices, read:

South Korea a Case Study in Long-term Market Development

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 02:30:07 GMT

Source: U.S. Dairy Export Council

The newly approved South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) is just months from implementation, and the opportunity to build upon already expanding U.S. dairy exports to Korea has never been greater. Reflecting the growing interest in the market, a recent U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) trade mission to Korea drew unprecedented industry participation from both countries. Similarly, a reverse mission of Korean bakers to the U.S. also garnered strong interest from the trade.

“Today, Korea is one of the fastest-growing destinations for U.S. dairy products and the United States is one of the leading suppliers to the market. But this success didn’t happen overnight,” says Les Hardesty, a dairy producer from Greeley, Colo., chairman of USDEC and a board member of Dairy Management Inc., which is the primary funder of the Export Council. “The story of how this East Asian nation grew from a small buyer to a major customer is a classic case study in long-term, integrated market development programs executed collaboratively with processors to ensure dairymen have markets for our growing U.S. milk supply.”

2011: Sales nearly double

In the first nine months of this year, U.S. export shipments to South Korea were valued at $174 million, up 85% from the previous year. Cheese sales more than doubled, to 28,511 tons (62.9 million pounds), and butter and lactose sales also were up significantly. The U.S. became Korea’s No. 1 cheese supplier, with a share of 45%, and remained its top seller of whey proteins and lactose.

Overall sales are on pace to approach $240 million this year. In September, a few weeks before the Korea-U.S. FTA would be passed in Congress, nearly three dozen representatives from 16 U.S. companies visited South Korea as part of the largest-ever USDEC trade mission. Suppliers took part in market briefings, plant and store visits and one-on-one meetings with key buyers. Participants reported significant business from the trip: With 75% of the 16 supplier surveys returned, the event generated 7,000 tons (15.4 million pounds) of new business worth an estimated $31.5 million over the next 12 months.

Laying the groundwork

A decade ago, Koreans consumed dairy the way Americans consume Korea’s national dish, kimchi—very rarely. Moreover, U.S. suppliers had little distribution, and awareness of the U.S. as a dairy supplier was almost nonexistent.

Shortly after U.S. dairy producers founded the organization in 1995, USDEC established an office in Seoul. At the time, exports to Korea averaged just $30 million a year. Since then, USDEC has conducted a wide range of programs incorporating market research, product promotions, market access assistance and trade policy advocacy.

“When we first entered the Korean market, our biggest obstacle wasn’t just competition from other suppliers, it was also the historic lack of dairy in the diet,” says Tom Suber, president of USDEC. “So we had to build the program in Korea from the ground up. We began with basic education programs—a television cooking show, simple public relations, applications seminars and trade shows.

“The key was to build distribution and develop strategic partnerships. We also had to get U.S. suppliers interested in the opportunity by providing market research and on-the-ground intelligence, which was much less accessible in the pre-Google business world than it is today.”

Early programs

Starting with the bakery sector and focusing on cream cheese in the early part of the decade, USDEC and its members teamed with the Korea Bakery Association to conduct recipe contests and technical seminars that fostered interest in U.S. cheese. At the same time, the organization set about overturning misconceptions about whey proteins, a strategic U.S. export category.

“When USDEC got into the market, the Korean trade thought of whey only as a feed ingredient,” says Matt McKnight, USDEC’s senior vice president of market access and regulatory affairs. “It had a negative image -– it was something you fed to swine, not to people.”

In fact, whey wasn’t even permitted as an ingredient in certain foods. For instance, Korea’s standards for ice cream and yogurt allowed only skim milk powder to be used as a source of additional milk solids. USDEC staff petitioned the Korean government, enlisted Korean manufacturers for support and met with regulatory agency officials to broaden the standard. As a result, the Korean food code was rewritten to allow the use of whey, and local manufacturers soon reformulated their products.

Marketing programs evolve

In 2003, USDEC and member companies built on their earlier work, expanding promotional efforts into the retail sector. In-store sampling introduced U.S. cheese to many Korean consumers for the first time. As Korea’s food landscape became more Westernized, USDEC programming extended to the burgeoning pizza sector.

Trade seminars and menu development consultations focused on helping operators get the best performance from their cheese and on tailoring pizza to local tastes. This was accompanied by a 2004 reverse mission that brought pizza chain leaders to the U.S. to visit cheese plants, meet with manufacturers and get a better appreciation for U.S. supply capabilities.

U.S. cheese exports to Korea increased 56% in 2008, confirming the growing penetration by U.S. suppliers. For the first time, Korea passed Japan as America’s No. 2 cheese export market.

That year, the nation’s top four pizza chains began sourcing cheese from the U.S., and trade servicing and educational programs promoted the use of whey in both food and feed applications.

Perhaps the most significant achievement to date came with the introduction of U.S. string cheese in Korean convenience stores. The initial success of the launch led to pickup by other stores, and the product quickly became the second-best selling dairy product throughout the c-store channel. The introduction of U.S. string cheese was a collaborative process based on a long-term relationship between the U.S. supplier and the Korean distributor, who was already working with the company on single-serve U.S. cream cheese.

FTA should spur continued growth

“The growth of the Korean market is the culmination of more than a decade of USDEC activities and with the newly passed free trade pact, prospects for continued growth look bright,” Suber says.

Supported through dues from its member companies and organizations, USDEC trade policy staff played a key role in the FTA negotiations by successfully pressing U.S. negotiators to expand access to the protected Korean market. Given the historical sensitivity in Korea’s agricultural sector, negotiations were particularly challenging. However, the U.S. dairy industry won unprecedented duty-free access for whey for feed use as well as for 16,000 tons (35.3 million pounds) of cheese, milk powders, whey for food use and other products. The agreement also called for most of Korea’s remaining tariffs to be phased out over five to 10 years.

“This is the essence of what USDEC was created for,” Suber says. “Sixteen years ago, U.S. dairy leaders—both producers and processors—recognized the need for an integrated, long-term market development effort that could help facilitate sales for a growing U.S. milk supply. With its primary funding from the dairy farmer checkoff program, the United States has since moved billions of pounds of milk into Korea, made possible by a series of programs that, over time, complemented each other and helped U.S. suppliers get into the market and stay in the market.”

Adds Hardesty: “USDEC facilitation of sales of U.S. dairy products overseas has reaped benefits for dairy producers, and South Korea is a case study underscoring why we need these demand-building programs and how to pursue them.”

The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) is a nonprofit, independent membership organization that represents the global trade interests of U.S. dairy producers, proprietary processors and cooperatives, ingredient suppliers and export traders. Funded primarily by the dairy checkoff program through Dairy Management Inc., USDEC aims to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and assist the U.S. industry to increase its global dairy ingredient sales and exports of U.S. dairy products. USDEC accomplishes this through programs in market development that build global demand for U.S. dairy products, resolve market access barriers and advance industry trade policy goals. USDEC is supported by staff across the United States and overseas in Mexico, South America, Asia, Middle East and Europe.