Seoul, May 20 (QNA) - South Korea's automobile exports declined slightly in April from a year earlier, largely due to a sharp drop in shipments to the United States following Washington's imposition of steep tariffs on foreign-made cars.

The value of outbound shipments of automobiles came to $6.53 billion last month, down 3.8 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

By region, exports to North America tumbled 17.8 percent on-year to $3.36 billion, according to South Korea's News Agency (Yonhap).

In contrast, exports to the European Union surged 26.7 percent to $953 million. (QNA)