Nexen Tire's research facility in Magok-dong, southwestern Seoul / Courtesy of Nexen Tire

Nexen Tire is advised to seek a breakthrough under the incoming Donald Trump administration, as his pledge to impose higher tariffs on imports is feared to deal a severe blow to the tire company, industry officials said Thursday.

Nexen is one of Korea's top three tire manufacturers along with Hankook Tire and Kumho Tire, but unlike its rivals, Nexen does not operate any production lines in the United States. This makes Nexen Tire exposed to higher risks of losing price competitiveness in the world's largest economy if tariffs are imposed.

Hankook Tire runs a factory in Tennessee, while Kumho Tire also operates a manufacturing facility in Georgia. But this is not the case for Nexen Tire, which manufactures its tires in Korea and Europe for export to the U.S.

Given that the U.S. is a major export market for Nexen Tire, the company is feared to face disadvantages if Trump enacts his idea of a universal baseline tariff of at least 10 percent.

According to data from the tire firm, it chalked up almost a quarter of its sales in North America. Sales from the region totaled 542.7 billion won ($388 million) in the first three quarters of the year, accounting for 25.2 percent of its total sales during the same period.

“If tire companies face higher tariffs, they may have to increase their sales price to maintain their profitability, but this would diminish their price competitiveness there,” an official from the automotive industry said.

Last year, the company unveiled its plan to build a manufacturing facility in the U.S., but the plan has since been stalled. In an updated regulatory filing released in June, the company revised the plan, saying that candidates for the upcoming factory site had been expanded beyond the U.S. to include other global locations.