Trump's 'Korea's Tariffs 4 Times Higher Than US' Statement... Government: "Not True, Will Explain to the US"

Government: "Tariff Rate on US Imports at 0% Range Due to FTA"

"Will Explain to US Government Through Embassy in the US"

The government has refuted US President Donald Trump's claim that 'Korea imposes tariffs four times higher than the US,' stating that "it is not factual." The explanation is that due to the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Korea and the US, tariffs are actually in the 0% range.

According to News1, a government official stated on the 5th that "we plan to officially explain to the US government that (President Trump's) statement about tariff rates is not accurate." The government says it will explain through the Korean Embassy in the US that Korea's tariff rates on US imports are not high.

On the 4th (local time), President Trump mentioned in his first joint congressional address of his second term that "Korea imposes tariffs (compared to the US) that are 4 times higher," adding, "We are helping Korea militarily and in many other ways. This system is never fair to the United States."

This reveals that Korea has become a major target of Trump's tariffs, following Mexico and Canada, which have been subject to 25% tariffs from today, and China, which has been subject to an additional 20% tariff.

'Reciprocal tariffs' means imposing the same tariff rate on products from a country that the country imposes on US products. For example, if Country A imposes a 10% tariff on US products, the US would also impose a 10% tariff on Country A's products.

The government refuted President Trump's statement as untrue. While Korea's average Most Favored Nation (MFN) tariff rate is 13.4% and the US MFN tariff rate is 3.3%, which is indeed about 4 times higher, the actual tariffs are much lower due to the FTA.

According to the government, under the Korea-US FTA that has been in effect since March 2012, the average tariff rate on US imports was 0.79% as of last year (based on the effective tax rate without considering refunds). When refunds are considered, the rate becomes even lower. Additionally, according to the annual concession plan, tariffs are scheduled to decrease further this year.

Ahn Hye-won, Hankyung.com reporter anhw@hankyung.com