US Imposes 12.5% Additional Tariff on South Korea…Rubio Points to Korean Government’s Attitude as a Factor (Comprehensive)

Allegations of Discrimination Against U.S. Firms Like Coupang and Meta

Secretary Rubio Acknowledges Concerns at House Hearing

South Korean Government Responds, Meets with USTR Greer

The U.S. government has announced that it will impose a 12.5% tariff on Korea due to the issue of forced labor in production. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the Korean government's attitude toward U.S. companies, such as Coupang and Meta Platforms (Meta), influenced this decision. Looking ahead, additional tariffs will be imposed regarding the issue of overproduction. The Korean government has conveyed that any discussions should be conducted within the framework of the tariff agreement reached last year.

Photo by AP

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is attending a hearing of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on the 3rd (local time) and responding to lawmakers' questions.

During a hearing of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on the 3rd (local time), Secretary Rubio agreed with Congressman Darrell Issa (Republican, California), who pointed out that U.S. companies are facing discrimination in Korea, saying, "Our companies are not only facing difficulties and being targeted in Korea." He added, "I think the situation of U.S. companies in Korea has become one element of our engagement with Korea, even though we are strategically aligned in many areas." He continued, "Frankly, I believe this has affected our ability to conclude trade agreements with Korea due to some of their attitudes toward U.S. companies."

This statement can be interpreted as directly explaining the recent reason for the U.S. government’s plan to impose additional tariffs, including on Korea. Previously, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced it would impose an additional 10% or 12.5% tariff on imports from 60 economies that failed to block products made with forced labor. Korea was included in a group of 46 economies that both failed to introduce and effectively enforce import bans on goods produced with forced labor, and thus was subjected to the 12.5% tariff. Meanwhile, Canada, the European Union (EU), Mexico, Taiwan, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom—14 economies in total—were proposed a 10% tariff rate, reflecting their efforts to improve.

Rear view of Secretary Rubio attending a U.S. House of Representatives hearing. Photo by AP Yonhap News.

The U.S. government and Congress have been arguing since last year that U.S. Big Tech companies and other firms are facing excessive discrimination and regulatory pressure in Korea. For example, the USTR’s 2026 National Trade Estimate Report (NTE Report), released on March 31, highlighted recurring complaints from Big Tech companies, such as restrictions on the export of location data. The USTR stated in the report that the Korean government had pledged not to discriminate against U.S. firms regarding laws and policies related to digital services. It also said it would continue investigations and other actions under Section 301 of U.S. trade law to address what it deemed unreasonable and discriminatory foreign measures. Section 301 allows the U.S. to take actions such as imposing tariffs in response to unfair or unreasonable discrimination by foreign governments.

The U.S. Congress is also taking a strong stance. One of the leading voices, Senator Bill Hagerty (Republican, Tennessee), directly mentioned Coupang during last month’s confirmation hearing for Michelle Steel, nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Korea. He expressed concern that "some U.S. technology companies appear to be discriminated against in Korea," and requested, "Please ensure that U.S. companies—especially technology firms—are not treated in a discriminatory manner, whether compared to Korean companies or, for example, Chinese companies." In response, Ambassador nominee Steel also emphasized “equal treatment” for U.S. companies in Korea and pledged to ensure that companies such as Coupang would not face discrimination.

Coupang is actively leveraging its status as a U.S. company and focusing on lobbying efforts in political and governmental circles. Coupang Inc., the parent company of Coupang, spent USD 1.09 million (approximately KRW 1.6 billion) on lobbying in the first quarter of this year (January to March). According to reports, its lobbying targets included not only the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives but also the Department of State, Department of the Treasury, Department of Commerce, USTR, Department of Agriculture, and Small Business Administration. The Vice President of the United States and the White House Chief of Staff were also among those lobbied.

A Coupang center in Seoul on February 27. Photo by Yonhap News

Secretary Rubio also explained that, similar to Korea, the EU is excessively regulating U.S. Big Tech companies. The EU is set to face an additional 10% tariff. Secretary Rubio stated, "The EU is targeting our technology companies and taking unfair actions." Currently, the EU is discussing imposing fines worth hundreds of millions of euros (several hundred billion won) on Google for alleged violations of antitrust law and the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Results are expected in the second half of this year.

The Korean government responded immediately. Han-Koo Yeo, Trade Minister for Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, met with Jamieson Greer, the USTR representative, on the occasion of attending the 2026 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) in Paris, France. He conveyed Korea’s position that discussions should take place within the framework of the existing Korea-U.S. tariff agreement. The two also discussed all bilateral trade issues, including the results of the investigation under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act.

The recent forced labor tariff is a measure taken under Section 301, replacing the Trump administration’s reciprocal tariffs that were invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court. However, if additional tariffs are imposed over the issue of overproduction, the tariff rate could exceed the 15% set in the Korea-U.S. trade agreement. Last year, Korea pledged a total of USD 350 billion in investment in the United States during tariff negotiations with the U.S., and the two sides agreed to lower the proposed 25% reciprocal tariff to 15%.

Meanwhile, Secretary Rubio distanced himself from some claims in the U.S. Congress that Korea is becoming pro-China or left-leaning, saying, "We respect the sovereign choices of democratic countries." He added, "Sometimes, in democracies, leaders friendlier to U.S. interests, like Japan, are elected, and sometimes those with different perspectives are elected." He continued, "This is a unique aspect when dealing with democratic countries, and we often see this in our own region (the Western Hemisphere) as well."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.