By Associated Press Business Writer MAE ANDERSON
NEW YORK (AP) Amrita Bhasin, 24, chose to buy more sheet masks from Korean companies like U-Need and MediHeal, which she uses sometimes, after learning that South Korean goods might be subject to a new tax once they arrived in the US.
She added, “I recently hauled to stockpile.” I should have enough for a few months because I purchased 50 in bulk.
One of the nations hoping to reach a trade agreement before President Donald Trump imposes country-specific tariffs on August 1 is South Korea. There is a sizable portion of the American populace that has a stake in Seoul avoiding a 25% export tax.
With consumers in Europe, North and South America, and now the Middle East grabbing onto creams, serums, and balms from South Korea, Japan, and China, Asian skin care has been a flourishing worldwide industry for more than ten years.
Korean cosmetics, or K-beauty for short, have been the dominant trend in the US and other countries. An obsession with 10-step regimens and ingredients like snail mucin, heartleaf, and rice water replaced the enthusiasm for all-in-one BB creams, which include moisturizer, foundation, and sunscreen.
According to data from market research firm Euromonitor, South Korea transported more skin care and cosmetics to the United States last year than any other nation, despite the fact that its top exports by value to the United States are cars and electronics. According to Euromonitor, France, home to iconic cosmetic brands like Chanel and L’Oreal, came in second.
According to data gathered by the independent government U.S. International Trade Commission, the United States imported $1.7 billion worth of South Korean cosmetics in 2024, a 54% increase from the previous year.
According to Mary Lovely, a senior scholar at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Korean beauty goods “not only give Americans a lot of variety and choice, they really embraced them because they were offering something different for American consumers.”
She claimed that K-beauty, in addition to media products like Parasite and Squid Games and the success of K-pop groups like BTS, has raised South Korea’s prominence internationally.
According to Lovely, it’s all really a part of the same thing. Although a 25% tariff cannot totally prevent it, it is difficult to see how it won’t affect the volume of sales in the United States. Additionally, I believe that producers are telling us that it significantly reduces the amount of products they wish to provide in this market.
When Trump first put punitive tariffs on items from specified countries, Senti Senti, a retailer that sells international beauty products at two boutiques in New York and online, experienced some panic buying by clients, according to manager Winnie Zhong.
Even though Trump stated on July 7 that a 25% tariff on imports from South Korea and Japan would take effect on August 1, Zhong claimed the rush slowed down after the president suspended the new duties for 90 days and hasn’t ramped up again.
Following that, agreements with the Trump administration were reached by Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia that reduced the tariff rates their exported goods faced. In Japan’s case, the tariffs were cut from 25% to 15%, but they were still higher than the existing baseline of 10%.
However, despite having a free trade agreement since 2012 that permits the tax-free entry of cosmetics and the majority of other consumer items into the United States, South Korea has yet to finalize an agreement.
Beauty goods from South Korea and Japan have become increasingly popular since Senti Senti’s first store opened 16 years ago, and they currently make about 90% of the inventory. Although the company hasn’t yet had to charge clients for tariff-related expenses, Zhong stated that if the goods are subject to a 25% import duty, that won’t be feasible.
Since one of the characteristics about K-beauty, or Asian beauty, is that its prices are meant to be accessible, I’m not really sure where the industry will go with the tariffs in place, she added.
Because the goods are usually less expensive than those found in American retailers, ardent supporters of Asian cosmetics will frequently purchase directly from Asia and wait weeks for their deliveries to arrive. Because of the uncertainties around tariffs, some consumers are delaying purchasing their preferred sunscreens, lip tints, and toners.
Over the past year, Jen Chae, a content creator from Los Angeles with over 1.2 million YouTube subscribers, has developed an interest in Chinese beauty businesses after researching Korean and Japanese beauty goods.
Chae briefly stopped placing orders from websites like YesStyle.com, a shopping platform run by a Hong Kong-based e-commerce company, when the levies were first announced. As a creator, she was unsure if she would be required to pay customs fees on the items she purchased or those that brands provided her.
According to Chae, I wasn’t sure if those would apply a blanket tariff amount to the entire bundle or just to specific goods. YesStyle claims on its website that it will repay clients for import fees by giving them store credit.
Sue Greene and Herra Namhie, founders of Ohlolly, an internet store that sells Korean goods, are also pausing.
They keep their goods in a warehouse in Ontario, California, and buy directly from South Korea and authorized distributors in the United States. According to Namhie, a 25% import tax would result in a significant rise in our expenses following years of duty-free imports.
When the tariffs were at 10%, she and Greene just placed two orders to restock their inventory. However, they have halted additional restocks because, according to Namhie, “I don’t think we can handle 25%.” Customers might choose to buy elsewhere if they had to boost prices.
The sisters and company owners are hoping that the United States and Korea will agree on a reduced tariff or make an exception for lower-priced goods like cosmetics. However, their warehouse only holds inventory for two to four months. They claim that they will need to decide which products to order, which to withdraw, and which pricing to raise in a month.
Although she is passionate about K-beauty items like lip masks and toner pads, Rachel Weingarten, a former makeup artist and writer for the daily beauty email Hello Gorgeous!, stated that she does not believe stockpiling is a good habit.
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Maybe one or two items, but she warned that natural oils, flimsy packaging, and expiration dates might cause your products to go rancid before you can use them.
Weingarten stated that although the beauty industry is global, she will continue to purchase Korean goods if costs increase. She stated, “I still enjoy my favorites, but I’m constantly searching for excellent products in general.”
Because she appreciates the quality of Korean face masks, Bhasin, from Menlo Park, California, intends to continue purchasing them even if the cost increases.
“I will not switch to U.S. products if prices increase,” she stated. I don’t think there are many good, trustworthy alternatives to face masks in the United States.
This report was written by Karena Phan, an AP audience engagement editor in Los Angeles.
