US Signals It Will Keep 15% Tariff Cap Set in Trade Deals

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the U.S. would honor existing tariff ceilings agreed with trading partners.

Greer told reporters at an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development meeting in Paris on June 4 that “a deal is a deal,” according to Reuters and other media reports. He was responding to a question about whether Washington would respect the 15% tariff cap set under its trade agreement with the European Union.

He said he understood the agreement to mean the U.S. can impose tariffs up to a certain level. Findings from investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act authorize tariffs up to that level, he added.

The remarks reaffirmed that the total tariff rate arising from the Trump administration’s Section 301 investigations would not exceed the level set in last year’s trade agreements. On June 2, the administration said it would impose tariffs of 10% to 12.5% because countries had failed to curb trade in goods made with forced labor. More Section 301 investigations, including probes related to overcapacity, are expected to follow. Concerns had grown that tariff agreements with the U.S. could be undermined, prompting Washington to try to calm those worries.

Kim Jung-kwan, South Korea’s industry minister, also said after a video call with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick a day earlier that the U.S. had said it would not exceed the 15% tariff level agreed by Seoul and Washington last year.

Lee Sang-eun, Washington correspondent, Korea Economic Daily, selee@hankyung.com