Exclusive: As Trump squeezes, Korea’s U.S. crude imports hit all-time high

Home > Business > Industry

Exclusive: As Trump squeezes, Korea’s U.S. crude imports hit all-time high

Published: 05 Feb. 2026, 05:00 Updated: 06 Feb. 2026, 13:22

SARAH CHEA
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

U.S. President Donald Trump listens before signing a spending bill in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Feb. 3. [AP/YONHAP]

Korea’s imports of U.S. crude oil hit a record high of 174.9 million barrels last year, according to government data, due primarily to U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to expand energy exports through tariff negotiations.

With Korea pledging to purchase $100 billion worth of U.S. energy products in the next four years as part of the tariff deal, Korea’s U.S. crude imports are anticipated to jump further this year.

[단독] 트럼프 압박 효과 있었나… 지난해 美 원유 수입 ‘역대 최대’

Korea imported 174.89 million barrels of crude oil from the United States last year, comfortably surpassing the previous record of 168.4 million barrels set a year earlier, according to data from the Korea National Oil Corporation.

By value, it reached $12.9 billion.

The United States accounted for 17 percent of Korea's crude oil imports in 2025 — second only to Saudi Arabia at 33.6 percent, and higher than the United Arab Emirates at 11.4 percent, Iraq at 10.4 percent and Kuwait at 8.5 percent.

Imports of Canadian crude oil also surged, rising nearly 230 percent to 4.54 million barrels last year, as Korea eyes Canada as a way to diversify its supply chain. Canadian oil is around 10 to 15 percent cheaper than oil from the United States and the Middle East.

Imports of U.S. crude oil entail logistical and operational drawbacks, with the longer shipping distance being the most significant. Shipments from the U.S. West Coast to Korea typically take up to 50 days, compared to roughly 30 days from the Middle East. Even after arrival, refiners struggle to refine the lighter U.S. crude as local infrastructure is primarily calibrated for heavier Middle Eastern oil.

Despite the disadvantages, imports of American crude have continued to rise, driven by Washington's intensified demands for greater purchases of U.S. energy. In one high-profile case, Trump imposed a 50 percent tariff on India but later cut it to 18 percent after securing a tangible commitment from New Delhi to halt imports of Russian crude and expand purchases of U.S. oil.

“A substantial expansion of U.S. crude oil imports could emerge as one of Korea’s viable options to address pressure from Trump, who wishes to narrow the U.S. trade deficit with Korea, which stood at around 80 trillion won [$55 billion] last year,” said Kim Dae-jong, a business professor at Sejong University.

In fact, Korea’s imports of U.S. crude oil sharply increased during Trump’s first term, which ran from January 2017 to January 2021. Korea imported only 2.4 million barrels of U.S. crude in 2016, accounting for a mere 0.2 percent of total imports, but that figure rose to 13.4 million barrels in 2017, 60.9 million barrels in 2018 and 137.9 million barrels in 2019.

HD Hyundai Oilbank's oil refining plant in Daesan, South Chungcheong [HD HYUNDAI OILBANK]

U.S. imports are expected to rise at a sharper rate this year, as Korea has already agreed to purchase $100 billion worth of U.S. energy products over the Trump administration’s four-year term, under the two countries’ bilateral trade consultations held in November. Of that, a substantial portion is reported to be crude oil.

“Crude purchases at the national level are largely intended for strategic stockpiles, and we plan to replace part of those reserves — traditionally sourced from the Middle East — with U.S. crude,” an official at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

The Korea National Oil Corporation last year alone substituted 6 million barrels of Middle Eastern heavy crude in its strategic reserves with oil from the United States.

Under the Korea–U.S. FTA, American crude oil is exempt from a 3 percent tariff. The government offers partial compensation for the cost differential when refiners import higher-transport-cost crude, relative to cheaper-to-ship Middle Eastern grades.

The average import price of U.S. crude was $73.64 a barrel, lower than Saudi crude at $73.80 and United Arab Emirates crude at $75.11.

“If the economics make sense, there is no reason not to expand imports of U.S. crude,” said an industry source from a domestic refinery. “There are disadvantages related to transportation and currency exchange, but if there is a broader policy need tied to Korea–U.S. trade relations, that is an area where we can cooperate.”