South Korea's Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo requested U.S. counterpart Jamieson Greer to exempt the country from reciprocal tariffs if they come into effect on April 2.
Context and South Korea's Demands
Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington, emphasizing that South Korea should not receive unfavorable treatment. Acting President Choi Sang-mok ordered the government to engage more actively with the U.S. administration to resolve tariff misunderstandings, noting that Trump's America-first policies also target Seoul.
Explanations and Calls for Fairness
Earlier this month, President Trump accused South Korea of imposing tariffs four times higher than those of the United States. However, the South Korean government countered this claim, asserting that 'facts differed' and under the 2007 FTA most goods are traded duty-free with an average tariff on U.S. imports of just 0.79%, dropping to 0% for industrial products. The Korean Trade Ministry's data conveyed an effective tariff rate of 0.79% due to the free trade agreement. Trump's '4x higher' claim pertained to a higher World Trade Organization general tariff rate (13.4%) versus America's 3.3%, rarely applied in practice due to numerous free trade agreements.
Political and Economic Implications
On March 14, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested that next month's tariffs could be applied to cars from all countries, including Korea, Japan, and Germany, stating fairness: 'If you’re going to tariff cars from anywhere, it’s got to be tariffing cars from everywhere.' Trump delayed new tariffs on cars from Mexico and Canada for one month. During his visit, Trade Minister Jeong met with Senator Andy Kim and industry representatives to discuss cooperation strategies and mitigate the impact of 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum.
South Korea is actively working to mitigate potential U.S. measures, ensuring that its interests are considered in future trade decisions, with a focus on maximizing national interests.
