Cheong Wa Dae vows to protect tariff deal after US announces 12.5% levy over forced labor

Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday it will do everything possible to ensure the balance of benefits under the existing South Korea-US tariff agreement is not undermined, after the Office of the United States Trade Representative announced plans to impose an additional 12.5 percent tariff on imports from South Korea and other economies that have failed to block trade in goods produced with forced labor.

In a statement released that day, Cheong Wa Dae said it had "maintained close communication with the US side through the submission of written comments and bilateral consultations" since the USTR launched a Section 301 investigation into imports of forced-labor-produced goods on March 12.

It added that the government "will actively respond to the upcoming written comment submission deadline of July 6 and the public hearing scheduled for the 7th, while taking comprehensive account of the ongoing Section 301 investigation into overcapacity."

The USTR announced Monday, local time, that it plans to impose additional tariffs of either 10 percent or 12.5 percent on imports from 60 economies that have failed to prevent trade in goods produced with forced labor.

South Korea was placed in a group of 54 economies that failed both to adopt and to effectively enforce import bans on goods produced with forced labor, making it subject to the 12.5 percent rate.

The group includes Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, Malaysia, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Vietnam, among most of the economies under investigation.

The USTR said it had determined that the policies and practices of the 60 economies regarding trade in forced-labor-produced goods "are unreasonable and burden or restrict US commerce."

The USTR launched the Section 301 investigation in March as a replacement for the reciprocal tariffs the Supreme Court struck down as unlawful in February. The probe targets overcapacity and imports of goods produced with forced labor, with the aim of imposing additional tariffs on the economies under investigation. South Korea is subject to both inquiries.