Ministry of Industry: "US Imposes 100% Tariff on Chinese Electric Vehicles... Closely Monitoring Impact on Korean Industry"

Joint Public-Private Meeting with Automotive and Battery Industries
Potential Windfall Benefits in the US Market
Concerns Over Excessive Competition in Key Markets Like the EU

On the 14th (local time), following the United States' announcement of tariff increases targeting China based on Section 301 of the Trade Act, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a public-private joint meeting on the 16th, chaired by Deputy Minister for Trade Yang Byung-nae, with the automobile and battery industries to discuss the impact of these measures on Korean companies in the US and global markets.

According to the Ministry, the US plans to raise tariffs on approximately $18 billion worth (about 4% of total imports from China) of advanced and core industrial products from China, including electric vehicles, batteries, semiconductors, steel, and medical supplies. Among these, tariffs on electric vehicles will increase from the existing 25% to 100%, and tariffs on batteries will rise from 7.5% to 25%.

Section 301 of the US Trade Act regulates negotiation and retaliatory measures against unfair trade practices by trading partners. The authority to invoke this lies with the United States Trade Representative (USTR), and this is the first time President Biden has imposed high tariffs on China under Section 301.

At this meeting, the automobile and battery industries discussed potential benefits such as windfall gains in the US market due to the US measures, as well as concerns about excessive competition with Chinese products outside the US market and supply chain linkages with China.

Deputy Minister Yang stated, "We will continuously monitor China's responses to these measures and the reactions of major markets such as the European Union (EU), support the diversification of our industry's supply chains, and minimize negative impacts on our industries while strengthening global market competitiveness." He added, "Following this meeting, additional meetings will be held with the semiconductor, solar power, and home appliance industries."