U.S. President Donald Trump is set to announce "reciprocal" tariffs this week to match what other countries levy on American exports, as Korea and other U.S. trading partners are striving to minimize the potential repercussions of the new duties.

South Korean steelmakers are bracing for U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs with possible plans to build production facilities in the United States, industry officials and market observers said Wednesday.

Having awoken Thursday to news of a long-awaited and long-feared new U.S. tariff regime, key American allies in East Asia were stunned.

After their first trilateral economic meeting in over five years, China, Japan and South Korea vowed to strengthen their trading ties.

South Korean steelmakers said Thursday they will set up an "item-by-item" export strategy through close consultations with government officials and industry associations in response to hefty U.S. tariffs.

Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo are major U.S. trading partners, although they have been at loggerheads among themselves over issues, including territorial disputes.

Asian markets led the slide. Japan's Nikkei index dropped 4% after opening, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 2.4%, South Korea's KOSPI fell 2.7% and Australia's ASX 200 fell 2%. U.S. markets closed up ahead of Trump's Wednesday Rose Garden presentation,

South Korea's economy will likely face headwinds as the U.S. administration's plan to impose "reciprocal" tariffs is expected to deal a severe blow to the country's shipments to the United States, while seriously disrupting the global market that may again adversely affect South Korean

Sweeping new tariffs announced by Trump provoked dismay, threats of countermeasures and urgent calls for talks to find ways to rescind the stiff new import taxes imposed on goods from countries around the globe.