S. Korea, US trade chiefs meet amid forced-labor tariff threat; Yeo urges balance under existing tariff deal

South Korea's and the United States' top trade officials held talks amid Washington's announcement that it would impose tariffs of up to 12.5 percent on countries that fail to block imports of goods produced with forced labor.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Thursday, Yeo Han-koo, South Korea's chief trade negotiator, met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the 2026 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris, France, on Wednesday local time.

During the meeting, Yeo sought a direct briefing on the background of the USTR's Section 301 investigation results — announced Tuesday — concerning the prohibition of imports made with forced labor, as well as the agency's plans for ongoing probes into overcapacity sectors. The ministry said Yeo stressed that the balance of benefits under the existing South Korea-U.S. tariff agreement must be maintained, and that the U.S. side reaffirmed its intention to honor that agreement.

The USTR released its Section 301 investigation report on the prohibition of forced-labor goods on Tuesday Korean Standard Time, finding that South Korea had not effectively enforced import bans on products made with forced labor and subjecting it to a 12.5 percent tariff. South Korea was placed in the same group as 45 other economies, including Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, India and Vietnam, for a total of 46 economies.

The EU, Canada, Mexico, Taiwan and 10 other economies — 14 in total — were assigned a 10 percent tariff rate on the grounds that they either have domestic regimes prohibiting imports of forced-labor goods or have committed to such prohibitions through mutual trade agreements with the United States.

The measures came roughly three months after the USTR launched the related investigation. The agency exempted from the tariff scope products already subject to Section 232 trade expansion measures, certain minerals and raw materials not sufficiently produced in the United States, and some aircraft and pharmaceuticals.

The two sides also reviewed progress on implementing commitments from the joint fact sheet agreed upon by the two countries' leaders last November.

"I made clear to the U.S. side that not only the results of this Section 301 investigation, but also any future trade issues between the two countries, should be addressed within the framework of the South Korea-U.S. tariff agreement rather than through new tariff measures," Yeo said. "We will respond calmly to the remaining Section 301 procedures and work to ensure that trade issues are managed in a stable manner."