Supreme Court Tariff Refunds and New Section 301 Duties Reshape U.S. South Korea Trade in 2026

Listeners, welcome to “South Korea Tariff News and Tracker,” your focused update on how U.S. tariff policy and Donald Trump’s trade agenda are intersecting with South Korea in 2026. The big story shaping everything right now is the ongoing fallout from the Supreme Court’s decision striking down some of Donald Trump’s global tariffs as illegally imposed under emergency powers. According to the Los Angeles Times, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has acknowledged collecting about $166 billion in these now‑invalidated Trump-era tariffs, with roughly $20.6 billion already ordered for refund and nearly $90 billion in claims accepted for processing. That includes duties paid on goods from key U.S. trading partners in Asia, such as South Korea, especially in sectors like steel, autos, electronics, machinery, and chemicals that were hit hardest during the Trump years. A key question for South Korean exporters and their U.S. customers is who actually qualifies for refunds and how far back those claims can go. The Los Angeles Times reports that a federal trade judge has ordered Customs to build a system that allows all importers of record to apply, not just those who joined early lawsuits. For South Korea-linked supply chains, that means U.S. importers of Korean steel, auto parts, semiconductors, and consumer electronics may still be able to reclaim a portion of the Trump-era tariff burden, depending on how this process is finalized in court. At the same time, the broader U.S. tariff landscape is getting more complicated again. The National Law Review notes that on June 1, the U.S. Trade Representative rolled out a proposal for new Section 301 tariffs of roughly 10 to 12.5 percent on imports from about 60 countries as part of a revamped, more “strategic” tariff regime. While the measure is framed broadly and not targeted at a single country, South Korea is deeply embedded in many of the high‑tech and industrial supply chains most exposed to these actions: batteries, EV components, chips, displays, telecom equipment, and advanced materials. Brookings Institution analysis explains that after the Supreme Court curbed Trump’s use of emergency powers, U.S. tariffs briefly dropped before rising again under more traditional trade authorities, with an average rate just above 9 percent on many affected imports. For South Korea, that means the Trump-era model of sweeping, discretionary tariffs has given way to a more structured but still elevated tariff environment, driven by sector‑specific cases, national security reviews, and technology‑focused actions rather than blanket country bans. All of this matters for listeners in South Korea-related business: the refund wave could improve margins for U.S. buyers of Korean goods, while the new Section 301 proposals and any future Trump‑influenced trade agenda could raise costs again in strategic sectors. The U.S.–Korea Free Trade Agreement still anchors zero or low tariffs on many lines, but the trend is toward more targeted duties on products linked to technology, critical minerals, and green industries where South Korean firms are major players. We’ll keep tracking which sectors see real relief from the refund process and where new tariffs land that could reshape U.S.–Korea trade flows. Thank you 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