How South Korea’s K-Beauty industry is hit by Trump’s tariffs

Cars and smartphones may be the ranking of South Korea’s largest exports to the United States, but few products have a more respectable following than beauty products in Asian countries.

K -beauty (a term covering a wide range of skin care, makeup and cosmetics in Korea) is praised for its quality and value, Driving Demand soared in recent years.

The global appeal of Korean culture also helps promote the popularity of its cosmetics.

US-based Pearl Mak told the BBC that her friends introduced her to K-Beauty products. The 27-year-old graphic designer says Korean essences are more suitable for her skin than some Western brands.

Now, she added, “95% of my skin care is made up of K-Beauty products.”

Ms. Mike is not alone, she prefers Korean skin care brands. According to industry estimates, Americans spent $1.7 billion (£1.3 billion) on K-Beauty products in 2024. This marks a growth of over 50% compared to the previous year.

K-beauty products are often more attractive than Western products – but are not common ingredients from Heartleaf to Snail Mucin in the West.

US President Donald Trump has implemented it now 15% import tax on Korean goods Transactions between Seoul and Washington.

This is less than the 25% tax that Trump threatens, but many consumers are not seizing any opportunity.

U.S. K-Beauty retailer Santé Brand ordered nearly 30% in April after Trump announced U.S. import taxes on most parts of the world.

“How customers will deal with the storm when tariff announcements break out,” Santé Brand founder Cheyenne Ware told the BBC.

“Consumers are preparing for uncertainty.”

Manager Winnie Zhong said Senti Senti, another K-Beauty retailer, has been ordering more products since Trump began the tariff threat.

This week, she received an alert from suppliers urging retailers to “stock before tariffs.”

Both retailers say prices for K-Beauty products may rise as taxes boost costs across the industry.

“Anyone tells you that the price will remain stable for the next two years,” Ms. Ware said.

Prices are certainly going to rise, especially for sellers of smaller beauty products on platforms like Amazon, whose margins are small, said Munseob Lee, an economist at the University of California, San Diego.

Despite the high prices, the global popularity of Korean culture still means that K-Beauty products may remain in demand in the United States, he said.

“Casual buyers may be closed for higher prices, but fans won’t find an easy alternative.”

Ms. Zhong agreed. She believes customers still want to buy K-Beauty products, but rising prices may mean they are buying fewer items than before.

A higher price is unlikely to stop MS MAK from buying her favorite products.

“It depends on the amount of price increases, but so far I’m willing to pay more for the same product,” she said.

Eyal Victor Mamou, a South Korea-based business consultant, said the Big K-Beauty brand has a better position to absorb the cost of tariffs than its smaller competitors.

He said these larger companies will be able to avoid higher profit margins for customers because they have higher profit margins.

Mr Mamou added that the smaller K-Beauty companies that make products in South Korea will work hard to keep the fees in place.

“It will take some time to go into effect, as most items sold in the short term have been commissioned at current prices, but we will see it soon.”

In recent days, President Trump has reached a deal with Japan and the EU, which will make their exports to the United States the same as the tariffs on South Korea.

This means the same as the K-Beauty industry in the world where some of the world’s largest cosmetic brands are located.

At the heart of Trump’s trade policy is his ambition to see more goods produced in the United States.

But whether this means that American buyers turn to American beauty products has not been seen yet.

Ms. Mark said she does not consider American-made products to be attractive alternatives.

“I do look for alternatives made in the United States often, but I haven’t found ones as effective as the ones I use.