South Korea’s exports rose in April, driven by strong semiconductor sales, trade data showed Thursday, as trade tensions over US tariffs persist.

The country, Asia’s fourth-largest economy, remains one of Washington’s key trading partners and is home to powerhouse chip and auto industries.

Its exports in April totalled $58.2 billion, up 3.7 per cent year-on-year, according to Korea Customs Service.

According to other data released by the trade ministry, exports of chips — the nation’s largest outbound product — rose 17.2 per cent, the largest jump in four months and the highest ever for the month of April.

Also performing well were wireless communication devices, including smartphones and biopharmaceutical products, with increases of 26.5 per cent and 21.8 per cent, respectively.

Seoul and Washington are working to craft a “trade package” intended to roll back US President Donald Trump’s new levies ahead of a July 8 expiration of his administration’s tariff freeze.

Washington implemented a 25 per cent tariff on steel imports in early March, followed by a 25 per cent tariff on auto imports.

In addition, a 10 per cent blanket tariff went into effect in early April, and higher “reciprocal” tariffs targeting major countries, including South Korea, were suspended for 90 days.

The trade figures come about a week after South Korea’s SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip maker, reported record quarterly profits, thanks to soaring global demand for artificial intelligence.

The firm’s South Korean rival, Samsung Electronics — a global chip and smartphone giant — on Wednesday also posted a better-than-expected 21.7 per cent rise in first-quarter net profit, buoyed by strong smartphone sales.

Shipments of cosmetic and beauty products rose by 20.8 per cent, while exports of agri-food products also went up by 8.6 per cent.

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Exports to the European Union jumped 18.4 per cent to a monthly record high of $6.7 billion, while those to China also rose 3.9 per cent.

But the country’s shipments to the United States dropped by 6.8 per cent, while overall exports of automobiles also declined by 3.8 per cent.

Trade minister Ahn Duk-geun said the data — particularly the increase in shipments to key markets including China and the EU despite a decline in exports to the US – is “evidence that the competitiveness of Korean exports remains solid despite external uncertainties”.

Imports dropped by 2.7 per cent in April, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.8 billion, down from $4.98 billion in the previous month.

AFP