Seoul asks Washington for exemption from auto tariffs

Published : Oct 30, 2018 - 14:01 Updated : Oct 30, 2018 - 14:01

South Korea has asked that it be exempted from the US' proposed tariffs on imported cars as the two sides have concluded negotiations on autos under their revised bilateral trade pact, Seoul's finance ministry said Tuesday.

In a meeting with Rob Rapson, deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Seoul, Vice Finance Minister Ko Hyeong-kwon also stressed that the South Korean auto industry had invested over

(Yonhap)

$10 billion in the US and generated more than 110,000 jobs, according to the ministry.

The world's largest economy is moving to levy duties on foreign autos based on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act under national security grounds.

Early this month, the South Korean government submitted a bill to ratify the revised free trade agreement with the US to the National Assembly, the final domestic procedure needed for its implementation.

The Seoul government hopes to complete domestic procedures related to the FTA by the end of the year, but the schedule may vary depending on whether Washington exempts South Korean autos from the list of 25 percent duties.

South Korean lawmakers have pointed out that any tariffs on Korean vehicles under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act would hamper the ratification process of the revised trade deal.

The agreement calls for Seoul to double the 25,000-vehicle unit threshold for US car imports that do not have to comply with domestic industry regulations, which would enable 50,000 American vehicles to enter South Korea more easily.

Seoul also will apply eased vehicle emissions standards for cars shipped from 2021-25, when setting new import regulations.

American manufacturers complained that the environmental regulations act as a non-tariff barrier for their cars. (Yonhap)