US Announces 'Forced Labor Tariffs' on 60 Countries... South Korea Subject to 12.5% Effectively

This is breaking news that just came in. Following the final ruling that the U.S. reciprocal tariffs were unlawful, the global tariffs that temporarily filled that void have expired, and the U.S. has newly imposed forced labor tariffs. South Korea's rate has been finalized at 12.5%. Let's connect to Washington.

Correspondent Jeon Byeong-nam, this should be seen as an expected procedure, right?



The U.S. Trump administration has just imposed forced labor tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on 60 countries, citing Section 301 of the Trade Act.

South Korea is effectively facing a tariff rate of 12.5%.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) made this public on its website moments ago.

Previously, when the previous reciprocal tariffs were ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court in February, the Trump administration utilized Section 122 of the Trade Act to impose a 10% global tariff.

Instead of Section 122 of the Trade Act, which expires tomorrow (the 25th), the USTR decided to utilize Section 301 to impose the new tariffs.

In effect, this is a structure where global tariffs filled the vacuum left by the reciprocal tariffs struck down due to illegality, and as the global tariff expiration approached, they were replaced once again by Section 301 tariffs.

As for the applicable tariff rates, 10% was imposed on countries that implemented forced labor prohibition measures, while 12.5% was imposed on countries that did not. South Korea was determined to be subject to 12.5%, along with Japan.

Countries categorized as having relevant systems such as Canada and the European Union, but with insufficient enforcement, are subject to a 10% tariff.

Regarding this measure, a U.S. administration official explained, "No country enforces the prohibition of forced labor to the level of the United States, and this provides an unfair advantage to other countries," and "Accordingly, the President will utilize all available tools, including tariffs, to achieve the desired results."

Meanwhile, the South Korean government has consistently maintained its stance that the tariff rate should not exceed the 15% agreed upon last year.

Separate product-specific tariffs are being applied to steel, aluminum, and automobiles.

For semiconductors, tariff-free status is being maintained as they are set to receive treatment no less favorable than major competing countries, in accordance with the South Korea-U.S. agreement.

The new tariffs will take effect at midnight tomorrow, Eastern Time.

With this announcement, South Korean companies are expected to face the situation of having to reassess their U.S. export strategies, separate from existing product-specific tariffs.

(Camera: Park Eun-ha, Video Editing: Choi Hye-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.