Korean media: US tariffs on South Korea have surged 47 times, the fastest in the world!
On September 26, Korean media Newdaily published an article stating that in the second quarter of this year, the US government collected $3.3 billion in tariffs on South Korean export goods, ranking sixth globally, but the increase was the fastest.
Data analysis by the US International Trade Commission (ITC) on tariffs for the top 10 countries exporting to the US in the second quarter of this year shows that the total tariff amount for South Korea's exports to the US in the second quarter was $3.3 billion, ranking sixth after China's $25.93 billion, Mexico's $5.52 billion, Japan's $4.78 billion, Germany's $3.57 billion, and Vietnam's $3.34 billion.
Compared to the tariff amount in the fourth quarter of last year before Trump's second term began, the increase in South Korea's tariffs was $3.23 billion, ranking fourth after China's $14.18 billion, Mexico's $5.21 billion, and Japan's $4.2 billion.
If converted into growth rate, South Korea ranked first among the 10 countries with a 4614% (47.1 times) increase, followed by Canada (1850%, 19.5 times), Mexico (1681%, 17.8 times), Japan (724%, 8.2 times), and Germany (526%, 6.3 times).
South Korea has almost no tariffs due to the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) until the first quarter of this year, but in the second quarter, due to the application of a 10% general tariff and additional tariffs on automobiles and parts, steel, and aluminum, the tariff increase rate rose.
On the other hand, China had the highest increase in tariffs, but its tariff increase was the lowest among the 10 countries because high tariffs were already imposed on Chinese electric vehicles, batteries, semiconductors, and solar cells during the Biden administration.
Looking at the breakdown of South Korea's second-quarter tariffs on exports to the US by product, automobiles and auto parts accounted for $1.9 billion, or 57.5% of the total tariff. The impact of the 25% tariff on complete vehicles in April and on auto parts in May was significant.
In the second quarter, South Korea's exports to the US reached $32.86 billion, of which $3.3 billion in tariffs were collected, resulting in an effective tariff rate of 10.0%. This figure ranks third among the top 10 countries exporting to the US, behind China's 39.5% and Japan's 12.5%. Considering that South Korea's exports to the US in the second quarter ranked eighth globally, this indicates that its tariff burden is relatively high compared to its export volume.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1844330649832588/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author.