South Korea Faces 12.5 Percent Tariffs Under New US Forced Labor Investigation

Listeners, welcome to “South Korea Tariff News and Tracker,” your focused update on how the Trump administration’s latest tariff moves are reshaping trade between Washington and Seoul. The big story is the White House’s new plan to rebuild its tariff wall. According to ABC News, the U.S. Trade Representative has proposed additional tariffs of 10 percent or more on imports from roughly 60 trading partners after an investigation into goods allegedly produced with forced labor. ABC News reports that South Korea is in the higher‑penalty group, facing a proposed 12.5 percent additional tariff on affected products, alongside China, Japan, India, Brazil and Switzerland. These duties are not yet in force: they must go through a public comment period, with hearings scheduled to begin July 7, but they signal a clear escalation in pressure on Seoul over labor and supply chain enforcement. Politico explains that this action comes under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the same legal weapon used during earlier trade wars. The investigation concluded that dozens of countries, including South Korea, have failed to “effectively enforce” bans on imports made with forced labor. Politico notes that most of the 60 partners, Canada and the EU included, will face 10 percent, while South Korea is among the 44 countries in the tougher 12.5 percent tier. For South Korean exporters in electronics, autos, batteries, and shipbuilding, this is effectively a new cost line that could squeeze margins or force price hikes for U.S. buyers. Bloomberg Television, in its segment “Trump Tariffs: China, UK, Europe Among US Trade Partners Targeted,” describes this as Trump “rebuilding” the sweeping tariff wall that the Supreme Court struck down earlier this year, now retooled around a forced‑labor rationale. Bloomberg notes that the plan envisions broad tariffs of at least 10 percent, rising to 12.5 percent for a large group of countries that includes South Korea, with narrow carve‑outs for some food, textiles, and metals. At the same time, there is a separate, technical but important shift in U.S. metals tariffs that could affect South Korean industrial exporters. A trade advisory from EY describes a new presidential proclamation adjusting Section 232 duties on steel, aluminum, and copper, effective June 8, 2026. For most listed steel and aluminum products, the additional duty remains 25 percent. However, for products from countries including the Republic of Korea, the rate is now calibrated to the normal “Column 1” duty rate: if that base tariff is under 15 percent, the total, including the Section 232 add‑on, is set at 15 percent; if the base rate is 15 percent or higher, the additional Section 232 duty drops to zero. That means some South Korean steel and aluminum shipments may see a modest effective reduction from the old flat 25 percent, while others settle at a locked‑in 15 percent floor. Trade policy watchers note that this two‑track approach – a targeted 12.5 percent Section 301 surcharge on a wide range of goods tied to forced‑labor concerns, plus an adjusted but still significant Section 232 regime on metals – leaves South Korea navigating a more complex, and in many cases higher, tariff environment than just a few months ago. For South Korean companies, the immediate questions are which HS lines end up on the final Section 301 list, where exemptions land, and how much of the 12.5 percent hit can realistically be passed through to U.S. customers without losing market share to suppliers in tariff‑favored countries. For now, the message from Washington is consistent. As InsideTrade’s “Tariff Reading Room” highlights, the current U.S. Trade Representative has said, “As long as we have a giant trade deficit, we’re going to have tariffs.” For South Korea, a key surplus partner with the U.S., that stance suggests these measures may be the opening phase of a longer, more structural tariff pressure campaign rather than a one‑off shock. That’s it for this installment of “South Korea Tariff News and Tracker.” Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an update. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. For more check out https://www.quietperiodplease.com/ Avoid ths tariff fee's and check out these deals https://amzn.to/4iaM94Q