The government conveyed its position to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) that it is unfair for Korea to be hit with an additional 12.5% tariff under the results of a Section 301 trade probe related to forced labor.
Commercial Counselor Lee Seung-heon at the Commercial Section of the Korean Embassy in the United States attended a USTR public hearing at the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) in Washington, D.C., on the 9th local time and presented this view. Lee said the additional 12.5% tariff the United States has signaled does not sufficiently reflect the actual situation related to Korea's imports of goods made with forced labor.
Lee also cited that Korea has established the "K-ESG Guide," operates systems to eradicate forced labor such as spreading the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct, and confirmed the intent for related cooperation in last year's leaders' summit joint fact sheet.
On that basis, Korea reportedly conveyed that an additional 12.5% tariff is neither appropriate nor necessary. It also explained that even if the United States imposes tariffs on those surveyed, Korea, which concluded a separate trade agreement with the United States last year, needs to be subject to different standards. Korea agreed in last year's tariff talks with the United States to invest $350 billion in exchange for lowering mutual tariff rates from 25% to 15%.
It is also reported to have argued that even if a tariff is imposed, Korea should receive more favorable treatment because it previously reached a separate trade agreement with the Donald Trump administration. In response, the USTR side asked for a detailed explanation of Korea's policies to eradicate imports of goods made with forced labor and reportedly requested a timetable related to specific measures and plans.
Earlier, the USTR announced the results of the Section 301 probe on forced labor last month and said it would impose an additional tariff of 10% or 12.5% on 60 economic jurisdictions. Korea was included among 46 economic jurisdictions deemed insufficient in introducing and enforcing an import ban on goods made with forced labor and was classified as subject to a 12.5% tariff. The public hearing has been held for three days starting on the 7th to gather views from governments and industry in each country.
The USTR's current Section 301 probe began to replace existing tariffs after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs were unlawful. Once the hearing concludes, the final results are expected to be announced soon.
Before the hearing, the government and the Korea International Trade Association requested in a written opinion that "the additional 12.5% tariff on Korean products lacks sufficient grounds and should be reconsidered, and if imposing a tariff is unavoidable, please lower it to 10%."