South Korea assessing impact on autos of Japan trade order signed by Trump, official says

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea is assessing the potential impact of U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signing an order to implement Japan’s trade deal that includes a lower 15% tariff on autos imported into the U.S., a Seoul trade official said on Friday.

The lower tariffs on Japanese autos are set to take effect seven days after publication of the order.

The move would put South Korean automakers at a competitive disadvantage to Japanese rivals, as U.S. tariffs on South Korean auto imports remain at 25%.

Hyundai Motor shares were down 0.2%, while Kia Corp fell 0.7%.

(Reporting by Jack Kim, Jihoon Lee and Hyunjoo Jin Editing by Ed Davies)