Tariffs threaten South Korean beauty product boom – Business News
When Amrita Bhasin, 24, realized that merchandise from South Korea is likely to be subject to a new tax once they entered the United States, she determined to stock up on the sheet masks from Korean manufacturers like U-Need and MediHeal she makes use of a few instances a week.
“I did a recent haul to stockpile,” she mentioned. “I bought 50 in bulk, which should last me a few months.”
South Korea is one of the international locations that hopes to secure a commerce deal earlier than the Aug. 1 date President Donald Trump set for implementing nation-specific tariffs. A not-insignificant slice of the U.S. population has pores and skin within the recreation in terms of Seoul avoiding a 25% responsibility on its exports.
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In the United States and elsewhere, Korean cosmetics, or Okay-beauty for short, have dominated the trend, in accordance with reviews. AP
Asian skincare has been a booming world business for more than a decade, with customers in Europe, North and South America, and more and more the Middle East, snapping up lotions, serums, and balms from South Korea, Japan, and China.
In the United States and elsewhere, Korean cosmetics, or Okay-beauty for short, have dominated the trend. A craze for all-in-one “BB creams” — a mixture of moisturizer, basis, and sunscreen — morphed into a fascination with 10-step rituals and ingredients like snail mucin, heartleaf, and rice water.
Vehicles and electronics could also be South Korea’s prime exports to the U.S. by worth, however the nation shipped more skincare and cosmetics to the U.S. than another final yr, in accordance with knowledge from market analysis company Euromonitor. France, with storied beauty manufacturers like L’Oreal and Chanel, was second, Euromonitor mentioned.
Statistics compiled by the U.S. International Trade Commission, an impartial federal company, show the U.S. imported $1.7 billion price of South Korean cosmetics in 2024, a 54% increase from a yr earlier.
A buyer checks Asian beauty merchandise at a Senti Senti store in New York on July 25, 2025. AP
“Korean beauty products not only add a lot of variety and choice for Americans, they really embraced them because they were offering something different for American consumers,” Mary Lovely, a senior fellow on the Peterson Institute for International Economics, mentioned.
Along with media choices resembling “Parasite” and “Squid Game,” and the recognition of Okay-pop bands like BTS, Okay-beauty has helped increase South Korea’s profile globally, she mentioned.
“It’s all part and parcel really of the same thing,” Lovely mentioned. “And it can’t be completely stopped by a 25% tariff, but it’s hard to see how it won’t influence how much is sold in the U.S. And I think what we’re hearing from producers is that it also really decreases the number of products they want to offer in this market.”
Statistics compiled by the U.S. International Trade Commission, an impartial federal company, show the U.S. imported $1.7 billion price of South Korean cosmetics in 2024, a 54% increase from a yr earlier. AP
Senti Senti, a retailer that sells worldwide beauty merchandise at two New York boutiques and thru an e-commerce web site, noticed a bit of “panic buying” by clients when Trump first imposed punitive tariffs on items from particular international locations, supervisor Winnie Zhong mentioned.
The rush slowed down after the president paused the new duties for 90 days and hasn’t picked up again, Zhong mentioned, even with Trump saying on July 7 that a 25% tax on imports from Japan and South Korea would go into impact on Aug. 1.
Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia subsequently reached agreements with the Trump administration that lowered the tariff charges their exported items confronted — in Japan’s case, from 25% to fifteen%, nonetheless increased than the present baseline of 10% tariff.
But South Korea has but to clinch an settlement, regardless of having a free commerce settlement since 2012 that allowed cosmetics and most different client items to enter the U.S. tax-free.
Since the primary store owned by Senti Senti opened 16 years in the past, beauty merchandise from Japan and South Korea have turn into more of a focus and now account for 90% of the stock. The business hasn’t needed to go on any tariff-related prices to clients but, however that gained’t be potential if the merchandise are subject to a 25% import tax, Zhong mentioned.
“I’m not really sure where the direction of K-beauty will go with the tariffs in place, because one of the things with K-beauty or Asian beauty is that it’s supposed to be accessible pricing,” she mentioned.
Devoted followers of Asian cosmetics will usually buy direct from Asia and wait weeks for his or her packages to reach as a result of the merchandise sometimes price much less than they do in American shops. Rather than stocking up on their favourite sunscreens, lip tints, and toners, some consumers are taking a pause due to the tariff uncertainty.
Los Angeles resident Jen Chae, a content material creator with over 1.2 million YouTube subscribers, has explored Korean and Japanese beauty merchandise and have become personally intrigued by Chinese beauty manufacturers over the past yr.
When the tariffs had been first introduced, Chae quickly paused ordering from websites resembling YesStyle.com, a purchasing platform owned by an e-commerce company based mostly in Hong Kong.
South Korea is one of the international locations that hopes to secure a commerce deal earlier than the Aug. 1 date President Donald Trump set for implementing nation-specific tariffs. AP
She didn’t know if she must pay customs duties on the merchandise she purchased or those manufacturers despatched to her as a creator.
“I wasn’t sure if those would automatically charge the entire package with a blanket tariff cost, or if it was just on certain items,” Chae mentioned. On its web site, YesStyle says it’s going to give clients store credit to reimburse them for import expenses.
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At Ohlolly, an online store centered on Korean merchandise, house owners Sue Greene and Herra Namhie are taking a comparable pause.
They buy direct from South Korea and from licensed wholesalers within the U.S., and store their stock in a warehouse in Ontario, California. After years of no duties, a 25% import tax would create a “huge increase in costs to us,” Namhie mentioned.
Senti Senti, a retailer that sells worldwide beauty merchandise at two New York boutiques and thru an e-commerce web site, noticed a bit of “panic buying” by clients when Trump first imposed punitive tariffs on items from particular international locations, supervisor Winnie Zhong (not pictured) mentioned. AP
She and Greene made two latest orders to replenish their stock when the tariffs had been at 10%. But they’ve put additional restocks on maintain “because I don’t think we can handle 25%,” Namhie mentioned. They’d must raise costs, after which consumers may go elsewhere.
The business house owners and sisters are holding out on hope that the U.S. and Korea decide on a decrease tariff or carve out exceptions for smaller ticket gadgets like beauty merchandise. But they solely have two to 4 months of stock of their warehouse.
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They say that in a month, they’ll must make a resolution on what merchandise to order, what to discontinue, and what costs should increase.
Rachel Weingarten, a former make-up artist who writes a each day beauty publication referred to as “Hello Gorgeous!,” mentioned that whereas she’s dedicated to Okay-beauty merchandise like lip masks and toner pads, she doesn’t suppose stockpiling is a sound follow.
“Maybe one or two products, but natural oils, vulnerable packaging, and expiration dates mean that your products could go rancid before you can get to them,” she mentioned.
Business house owners are holding out on the hope that the U.S. and Korea decide on a decrease tariff or carve out exceptions for smaller ticket gadgets like beauty merchandise. AP
Weingarten mentioned she’ll nonetheless buy Korean merchandise if costs go up, however that the beauty world is greater than one nation. “I’d still indulge in my favorites, but am always looking for great products in general,” she mentioned.
Bhasin, in Menlo Park, California, plans to keep shopping for her face masks too, even when the price goes up, as a result of she likes the standard of Korean masks.
“If prices will go up, I will not shift to U.S. products,” she mentioned. “For face masks, I feel there are not a ton of solid and reliable substitutes in the U.S.”
