Both countries' trade chiefs visiting Paris for OECD Ministerial Council Meeting

Ministry of Trade says it will work to ensure balance of interests under existing tariff deal is not undermined

Yeo Han-koo (right), head of the Korea Trade Negotiations Office at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, meets with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, from Jan. 19-22. [Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]
Yeo Han-koo (right), head of the Korea Trade Negotiations Office at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, meets with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, from Jan. 19-22. [Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]

South Korea's top trade official is set to meet his US counterpart in Paris in the coming days to discuss Washington's announcement of a 12.5 percent additional tariff on South Korea over its handling of goods produced with forced labor.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Tuesday that Yeo Han-koo, head of the Korea Trade Negotiations Office, would contact US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer imminently to discuss the matter. Yeo is currently in Paris attending the 2026 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting.

The USTR released a report Monday under Section 301 of the Trade Act on its investigation into import bans on goods made with forced labor.

Under the findings, South Korea was assigned a 12.5 percent tariff rate on the grounds that it had not effectively enforced import prohibitions on goods produced through forced labor.

South Korea was grouped with 45 other economies — including Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, India and Vietnam — in the higher-tariff tier.

Fourteen economies, including the EU, Canada, Mexico and Taiwan, were assigned a lower 10 percent rate, either because they have domestic regimes banning imports of forced-labor goods or because they have committed to such bans through mutual trade agreements with the United States.

The action came roughly three months after the USTR launched its investigation. The agency exempted from the tariff list products already subject to Section 232 measures under the Trade Expansion Act, certain minerals and raw materials not sufficiently produced in the United States, and some aircraft and pharmaceuticals.

The ministry said Seoul had been working closely with related ministries and key industry groups since the USTR opened its forced-labor investigation, submitting written comments arguing that Section 301 measures were "inappropriate and unnecessary" while maintaining close communication with the USTR through bilateral consultations.

The ministry added that the government planned to actively present its efforts to eradicate forced labor through upcoming comment submissions and public hearings, and would take into account the ongoing Section 301 investigation into overcapacity to ensure that "the balance of interests under the existing Korea-US tariff agreement is not undermined."


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