Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, third from right, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, second from left, attend talks on renewed trade tensions between the two countries at the Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C., Jan. 29. Courtesy of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources
The Korean government said Friday that the United States has reaffirmed its commitment to honoring the existing Seoul-Washington tariff agreement regarding newly announced Section 301 tariffs on trading partners.
"We have requested that the U.S. side comply with the Korea-U.S. trade agreement," said the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources in a statement, referring to the tariff agreement reached last year that set reciprocal tariffs on South Korean goods at 15 percent.
"The U.S. side also reaffirmed its position that the existing trade agreement must be upheld," it added.
Washington announced overnight a set of new forced-labor tariffs on imports from 60 trade partners, ranging from 10 percent to 12.5 percent, effective Friday (U.S. time), under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act.
