U.S.-Korea FTA News

Korea will be ‘completely open,’ face 15 percent tariffs under new trade deal, Trump says

South Korea will drop tariffs on American goods, invest $350 billion in the U.S. and buy $100 billion worth of U.S. energy products, President Trump claimed on Wednesday, saying in exchange that the U.S. will hit its exports with 15 percent tariffs, down from the 25 percent duties the president threatened earlier this month. “I am pleased to announce that the United States of America has agreed to a Full and Complete Trade Deal with the Republic of Korea,” Trump...

Trump sees Korea ‘inclined’ to open up, but analysts doubt quick deal

Korea has appeared “inclined” to “open up” in recent trade talks, President Trump said on Tuesday, raising the possibility that the country could secure a tariff rate lower than the 25 percent he has threatened to impose on its exports, though analysts say there are steep hurdles to negotiating such a deal before the administration’s Aug. 1 deadline. Speaking to reporters July 15 on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, Trump contrasted Korea’s position in the ongoing talks with what...

Ways & Means Republicans call for USTR probe into Korean anti-monopoly bill

House Ways & Means Committee member Carol Miller (R-WV) has reintroduced a bill that would direct the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to investigate the impacts of proposed anti-monopoly legislation in South Korea and take actions to protect U.S. digital trade. The “ U.S.-Republic of Korea Digital Trade Enforcement Act ” was crafted to “maintain a level playing field for our companies operating abroad and ensure an environment that allows both of our nations’ digital companies to thrive remains...

Trading partners call for closer collaboration after Trump win

South Korea’s trade minister on Wednesday urged his country’s automakers to consider expanding manufacturing in the U.S. in the wake of former President Trump’s victory on Tuesday, while several other top U.S. trading partners called for closer cooperation with the U.S. Trump has repeatedly said he intends to slap a blanket tariff on all U.S. imports of at least 10 percent -- and that foreign companies could avoid such duties by expanding their manufacturing presence in the U.S. South Korea’s...

Tech sector laments new South Korean anti-monopoly legislation

New legislation proposed in South Korea’s National Assembly this week would disproportionately target U.S. companies and could violate the country’s trade obligations, a technology industry association said on Wednesday. “The disproportionate targeting of U.S. companies and a narrow focus on online services that U.S. companies provide in Korea is particularly inappropriate for a digital market as dynamic as Korea’s -- and where hobbling specific U.S. (and Korean) firms puts them at a competitive disadvantage,” the Computer and Communications Industry Association...

In KORUS labor meeting, U.S. presses Korea on worker-rights violations

U.S. officials raised concerns about the imprisonment of Korean union leaders and other worker-rights issues during a meeting this week of the Korea Free Trade Agreement Labor Affairs Council. The council, composed of senior officials from the Labor Department, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and counterpart agencies in Korea, met virtually on April 25 and 26. Pursuant to KORUS Article 19.5, the council can meet to oversee implementation of the agreement’s labor chapter. During a public session of...

U.S. seeks comment on Korea’s request to modify KORUS textile rules

An interagency committee that oversees the implementation of textile agreements is soliciting public comments as the U.S. considers a request from Korea to revise rules of origin in the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement to address the availability of certain yarns. Korea on Nov. 9 submitted a request to the U.S. to initiate consultations under Article 4 of KORUS to consider revising rules of origin for certain textured and non-textured triacetate filament yarns, according to a Dec. 6 notice in...

January 2021 Congressional Research Service brief on the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement

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U.S, Korea hold first round of KORUS consultations

The U.S. and Korea this week engaged in the first consultations under their free trade deal, with the U.S. demanding changes to the way the Korea Fair Trade Commission treats U.S. companies. The U.S. says the commission's rules deny U.S. companies due process when they bring challenges before the commission, which handles antitrust cases. The consultations, requested in March, involve Article 16.1.3 of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative noted in a statement on...

Lighthizer hopes for U.S.-Japan agriculture deal in ‘next few’ months

A trade deal with Tokyo that covers agriculture is feasible “in the next few months,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, with “across-the-board” issues to be addressed later. Lighthizer, who appeared before the panel to testify on the administration’s 2019 trade policy agenda, said “headway” was being made with the Japanese. He cited high-level meetings last week and said another would be held during a G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, later this month,...

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