Industry and Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan said Thursday that he had received renewed confirmation that tariffs imposed by the United States on Korea would not exceed the 15% agreed upon last year.
"Last evening, I held a video meeting with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick," Kim said through his Facebook account that day, adding that the two sides "reviewed the implementation status of last year's Korea-US tariff agreement and confirmed both sides' continued commitment to compliance." He stressed, "In particular, with regard to Korea, I received renewed confirmation that tariffs exceeding last year's agreed level (15%) would not be imposed."
The day before, the United States disclosed part of its plan to impose tariffs based on Section 301 of the Trade Act. After the federal Supreme Court ruling left the US unable to impose universal tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), it has been conducting an investigation as an alternative to invoke Section 301 of the Trade Act. The investigation broadly targets trading partners' "overproduction" and "insufficient restrictions on imports of goods produced through forced labor." The US, taking issue with forced labor, presented a plan to impose a 12.5% tariff on Korea.
When this plan was disclosed, some analysts suggested that the universal tariff Korea would have to bear could exceed the existing agreed level of 15%. Korea is also subject to the overproduction investigation, which could add to the tariff rate. In response, Kim held an emergency meeting with Lutnick to dispel market concerns and received renewed confirmation that the US would honor the existing agreement.
Trade authorities also immediately moved to communicate with the US. Yeo Han-koo, head of the Office of Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, who was attending the 2026 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Ministerial Council Meeting held in Paris, France, the previous day, met with US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer there. At the meeting, Yeo directly grasped the background of the Section 301 investigation results related to the ban on imports of forced-labor goods and the plans for the ongoing overproduction investigation. The ministry said, "Yeo emphasized that the balance of benefits under the existing Korea-US tariff agreement must be maintained," adding, "The US side also reaffirmed its intention to comply with the Korea-US tariff agreement."
