Korean Washing Machines Subject to a 50% Tariff
South Korean washing machines exported to the United States are subject to a tariff of 50% starting from this month, as the U.S. tariff rate quota (TRQ) applied to South Korean washing machines has been used up.
According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Oct. 17, the U.S. imported 1.2 million washing machines from South Korea until October 1 after its safeguard implementation on February 7. According to the safeguard measure, a 20% tariff is applied to up to 1.2 million units and then the rate goes up to 50% in the first year of the safeguard. The 50% tariff remains effective until a new quota is put into effect in February next year.
When it comes to washing machine parts, a zero-tariff quota of up to 50,000 units was already reached on July 23. At that time, the remaining washing machine quota was 56.3%.
In the meantime, the CBP announced on October 1 that 35%, or 920,199 tons, still remains in the steel export quota South Korea previously chose instead of a 25% tariff. The remnant has to do with high anti-dumping and countervailing duties applied to companies like POSCO to result in export delays. The total quota is 2,631,012 tons and South Korea can export 453,287 tons in the fourth quarter of this year.