The acting president of South Korea, Choi Sang-mok, on Monday, ordered authorities to actively communicate with the US administration to resolve any misunderstanding over tariffs.
This directive is coming after US President Donald Trump recently singled out South Korea for applying high tariffs.
Trump, who has told his economic team to prepare reciprocal tariff plans by early April, said last week during an address to the US Congress that South Korea’s average tariff was four times higher than that of the United States, despite military and other assistance Washington has provided to its Asian ally.
The South Korean finance ministry said in a statement that, “Choi Sang-mok ordered to actively explain to the US about any misunderstanding of our tariff rates on U.S. imports.”
South Korea imposes the second-highest tariff rate among the top 15 US trading partners after India, but for US imports, nearly all tariffs are eliminated under their free trade agreement first signed in 2007 and revised in 2018 during Trump’s first term.
According to Seoul’s trade ministry, South Korea’s effective tariff rate on US imports as of 2024, stood at 0.79%.
According to the acting president, the government would also review non-tariff measures, which Trump said would be considered in his reciprocal tariff plan.
He asked South Korean officials to prepare for consultations with the US on cooperation in the shipbuilding and energy sectors.
Recall that Trump had said during his speech that Japan, South Korea and other countries wanted to partner on a natural gas pipeline in Alaska.