The Presidential Office said Thursday it would "do its utmost to ensure that the balance of interests under the existing Korea-U.S. tariff agreement is not undermined," after the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced plans to impose high additional tariffs on 60 trading partners, including Korea.
"The government will actively respond to the upcoming submission of written comments (by July 6) and the public hearing (July 7), while comprehensively taking into account the ongoing Section 301 investigation on overcapacity," a Presidential Office official said.
The USTR on Wednesday (local time) announced the results of an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act, citing that countries had not made sufficient efforts to block imports of goods produced with forced labor, thereby creating an unfair competitive environment. Korea was included in the group of economies that failed both to introduce and effectively enforce import bans on goods produced with forced labor, and was subjected to a 12.5% tariff.
The same group as Korea included most of the countries under investigation, such as Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam. A 10% tariff was proposed for those that have implemented import bans or partially adopted related systems, including the European Union (EU) and Canada.
The measure came about three months after the USTR launched the related investigation. "Since the USTR initiated the Section 301 investigation on the import ban of products made with forced labor on March 12, the government has been in close communication with the U.S. side through the submission of written comments and bilateral consultations," the Presidential Office official added.
