Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| Cars for export and import are stored in front of containers on May 16 at the harbor in Bremerhaven, Germany, with 2 million vehicles per annum one of the largest automobile hubs in the world. AP |
The government is studying whether the country was in fact granted auto tariffs relief by Washington, as the latter's decision to delay these did not clearly mention it, a senior trade official said Saturday.
President Donald Trump said Friday that he was putting off a decision to impose tariffs of up to 25 percent on imported autos and parts by six months after trade negotiations with Japan and the European Union got underway.
Washington earlier vowed to conduct a review on levying duties on imported autos on national security grounds based on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which had to be finished by Saturday.
The White House said in a statement Friday that it was delaying making the decision by six months, although it added that unfair trade barriers imposed by the European Union, Japan and "other countries" were hurting the U.S. industry.
However, the statement did note that the free trade pact between South Korea and the United States was revised to better benefit its car industry.
"We are only certain that the U.S. is planning to delay the implementation of the new auto tariffs for six months, and that South Korea is not clearly stated as a country that could be exempted from it," Deputy Trade Minister Kim Yong-rae said.
"Some overseas media are reporting that South Korea, Mexico and Canada are excluded from the targeted countries, but this is not clear," Kim said. "We will contact Washington to find out more information on the decision."
Seoul has been claiming its automakers do not hurt rivals in the world's top economy, and that it has lowered barriers for U.S. automobiles under the revised free trade deal that was implemented this year.
At the request of Washington, the two countries began last year to negotiate ways to revise the original deal, known as the KORUS FTA that went into effect in 2012.
Under the new deal, Washington was able to extend a tariff of 25 percent on Korean pickup trucks by another 20 years to 2041. South Korea also doubled the 25,000 vehicle threshold for U.S. car imports that do not have to comply with domestic industry regulations.
After U.S. manufacturers complained that the environmental regulations act as a non-tariff barrier for their cars, Seoul decided to ease vehicle emission standards to cars shipped in the 2021-2025 period as well.
Before the revision, Trump had slammed the trade pact as a "terrible" deal that was supposed to create 250,000 jobs for the U.S. but ended up giving those jobs to South Korea.
South Korean companies shipped 811,123 cars to the U.S. in 2018, accounting for 33 percent of total exports of 2.44 million, according to government data. (Yonhap)
