South Korea Expected to Avoid U.S. Auto Tariffs

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross remarked on Nov. 3 that he had good conversations with the European Union, Japan and South Korea and the Donald Trump administration may not need to impose tariffs on imported automobiles and auto parts.

He is currently attending the ASEAN Summit in Bangkok, Thailand. “Our hope is that the negotiations we’ve been having with individual companies about their capital investment plans will bear enough fruit that it may not be necessary to put the 232 fully into effect, may not even be necessary to put it partly in effect,” he said there.
 

Back in February this year, the U.S. president told the Office of the United States Trade Representative to consider the tariffs by May 18. Then, the deadline was postponed to Nov. 13.

European countries, South Korea and Japan have been mentioned as the targets of the tariffs. According to experts, South Korea is expected to be able to avoid the tariffs in that its FTA with the United States was revised last year. Japan is likely to be excluded as well with a new trade agreement signed early this month. The European Union and the United States, meanwhile, are yet to reach an agreement.

Copyright © BusinessKorea. Prohibited from unauthorized reproduction and redistribution