AP Business Writer May Anderson
NEW YORK (AP) — When 24-year-old Amrita Bhasin learns that products from South Korea could be subject to new taxes when they enter the US, she decides to restock sheet masks from Korean brands like U-need and Mediheel, who use several times a week.
“I was recently transported to stock up,” she said. “I bought a lot of 50 and it should last for a few months.”
South Korea is one of the countries where President Donald Trump, dated August 1, wants to secure trade contracts before the inherent tariffs are enforced. Non-significant slices of the US population have in-game skin when it comes to Seoul avoiding the obligation of 25% of exports.
Asian skincare has been a vibrant and global business that has been growing for over a decade by consumers in Europe, North America and the Middle East, snapping creams, serums and balms from Korea, Japan and China.
“Made in Korea” is printed on a product on display at Senti Senti in New York on Friday, July 25th, 2025 (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Customers will check out Asian beauty products at Senti Senti in New York on Friday, July 25th, 2025.
Customers and influencers will try out new Korean perfumes at a workshop held at Centi Senti in New York on Friday, July 25th, 2025.
Sales team leader Jay Lean will restock Asian beauty products at Centi Centi in New York on Friday, July 25th, 2025.
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“Made in Korea” is printed on a product on display at Senti Senti in New York on Friday, July 25th, 2025 (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
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In the US and elsewhere, Korean cosmetics, or K-Beatty, for short, dominates this trend. The all-in-one “BB cream” (a combination of moisturizer, basal and sunscreen) faded by 10 levels of rituals and ingredients, including snail mucin, heart leaves, and rice moisture.
According to data from market research firm Euromonitor, the vehicle and electronics could be South Korea’s top extests to the US, but it has shipped more skincare and cosmetics to the US than last year. France was second to have renowned beauty brands like L’Oreal and Chanel, Euromonitor said.
Statistics compiled by the U.S. International Trade Commission, an independent federal agency, show that the US imported $1.7 billion worth of Korean cosmetics in 2024, up 54% from the previous year.
“Korean beauty products really embraced them because they not only added a lot of diversity and choice to Americans, but also offered American consumers something different,” said Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Economics Institute.
With the popularity of media products such as “Parasites” and “Squid Games,” as well as K-Pop bands like BTS, K-Beauty has supported the Korean profile worldwide.
“It’s all part of the same thing, it’s a parcel,” Lovely said. “And while it’s not completely stopped at a 25% tariff, it’s hard to see how it doesn’t affect the amount sold in the US. What we’re hearing from producers is that the number of products we want to offer in this market will actually decrease.”
According to Winnie Zhong, when Trump first imposed punitive tariffs on products from certain countries, Senti Senti, a retailer selling international beauty products on two New York boutiques and e-commerce sites, saw a bit of “panic purchases” from customers.
The rush slowed after the president suspended his new obligation for 90 days and not taken up again, Zhong said he was in a hurry even if Trump said that 25% tax on imports from Japan and South Korea would come into effect on August 1 on July 7.
Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia have since reached an agreement with the Trump administration, reducing export rates, which Japan faces from 25% to 15%, higher than the current 10% tariff baseline.
However, South Korea has yet to enter into a contract despite having a free trade agreement since 2012, which allows cosmetics and most other consumer goods to go tax-free.
Since the first store owned by Senti Senti opened 16 years ago, Japanese and Korean beauty products have placed a greater emphasis on, and now accounts for 90% of the stock. The business did not yet have to take over customs related expenses to its customers, but it is not possible if the product is subject to 25% import tax, Zhong said.
“I really don’t know where the direction of K-Beauty is, because one of the things that have K-Beauty or Asian Beauty should be priced accessible,” she said.
Dedicated fans of Asian cosmetics often buy directly from Asia and wait a few weeks for the package to arrive, as the products are usually less expensive than in American stores. Some shoppers are pausing due to uncertainty about customs duties rather than raising their favorite sunscreen, lip tints and toner.
A content creator with over 1.2 million YouTube subscribers, Jenche, a Los Angeles resident, explored beauty products in Korea and Japan, and was personally intrigued by Chinese beauty brands last year.
When the tariffs were first announced, Choi temporarily suspended orders from sites such as Yesstyle.com, a shopping platform owned by Hong Kong-based e-commerce company. She didn’t know if she had to pay customs duties on the products she purchased or if she had to pay customs duties on what the brand sent as creators.
“I didn’t know if these would automatically charge blanket duties for the entire package or if they were on certain items,” Choi said. Yesstyle says on its website you can save credits to customers to refund import fees.
Ohlolly, an online store focusing on Korean products, has similar pauses with owners Sue Greene and Herra Namhie.
They purchase directly from South Korea from licensed US wholesalers and store inventory in warehouses in Ontario, California. After years of no obligation, a 25% import tax would create “a significant increase in costs for us,” Namhee said.
She and Green recently issued two orders to replenish inventory when the tariffs reach 10%. But they “don’t think we can handle 25%,” Nam Hee said. They need to raise prices and then shoppers may go elsewhere.
The business owner and sisters hope that the US and South Korea will settle for lower tariffs or open up exceptions for small ticket items such as beauty products. However, they only have 2-4 months of stock in the warehouse. They say in a month you need to decide which products to order, what products to discontinue, and which prices will rise.
Former makeup artist Rachel Weingarten, who wrote the daily beauty newsletter called “Hello Gorgeous!”, believes stockpiling is not a healthy habit while he is dedicated to K-Beauty products such as lip masks and toner pads.
“It’s probably one or two products, but natural oils, fragile packaging, expiration dates mean that your product can get sour before it reaches them,” she said.
Weingarten said he still buys Korean products when prices go up, but the beauty world is bigger than one country. “I still indulge in my favorites, but I’m always looking for great products,” she said.
Basin, located in Menlo Park, California, plans to continue buying face masks as well, as he likes the quality of Korean masks, even if prices rise.
“When prices go up, I won’t move on to US products,” she said. “In the case of face masks, I feel that there are not many solid and reliable alternatives in the US.”
Karena Phan, AP Audience Engagement Editor in Los Angeles, contributed to this report.
Original issue: July 28, 2025, 11:28am EDT
