Business Community Welcomes Korea-U.S. Tariff Agreement: "Opportunity to Resolve Uncertainty and Enhance Mutual Interests" (Comprehensive)

Statements from KEF, KITA, FKI, and KCCI
"Expectations for Enhanced Global Competitiveness... Strengthening Korea-U.S. Cooperation"

The Korean business community has unanimously welcomed the results of the tariff negotiations reached between South Korea and the United States.

The Korea Employers Federation stated on the 30th, "We welcome the final agreement reached between the two countries on tariff negotiations and investment in the United States," adding, "We believe this is an important opportunity to eliminate uncertainties in trade and investment between the two countries and to enhance mutual national interests in highly competitive advanced sectors."

The Korea International Trade Association commented, "Our companies will now be able to increase predictability and stability even amid an uncertain trade environment," and further evaluated, "In the investment sector, a safety mechanism for foreign exchange stability has been established, including an annual cap of 20 billion dollars and the principle of commercial reasonableness, thereby solidifying a sustainable framework for cooperation between the two countries."

They added, "A foundation has been laid for seeking new investment and export strategies amid the global supply chain reorganization," and stated, "We will cooperate to ensure that this agreement serves as a stepping stone for 'Korea-U.S. joint growth,' not only in advanced industries such as AI, biotechnology, and shipbuilding, but also for small and medium-sized enterprises and the service industry."

The Federation of Korean Industries said, "The fact that Korean companies will be subject to tariffs on key items such as automobiles, auto parts, and pharmaceuticals that are not disadvantageous compared to major competing countries will greatly help strengthen the global competitiveness of our companies," and added, "We also highly appreciate the efforts to minimize the impact of financial investment on the domestic foreign exchange market from the perspective of market stability."

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, through a comment by Kang Seokgu, Head of the Research Division, stated, "With the conclusion of the tariff negotiations, we expect that uncertainties in trade and investment with the United States will be significantly alleviated," and added, "Cooperation in investment, technology exchange, and human exchange in advanced industries can be further strengthened."

On the previous day, South Korea and the United States agreed that out of the total 350 billion dollars in investment in the United States, 200 billion dollars would be made as cash investments, with an annual limit set at 20 billion dollars. The mutual tariff rate will be maintained at 15%, and the tariff on automobiles will be reduced from 25% to 15%. For semiconductors, tariffs will be set at a level that is not disadvantageous compared to Taiwan.