Korea

The U.S. on Wednesday amended a controversial Section 232 process to allow companies from countries that agreed to separate quota deals for steel and aluminum to apply for product exclusions.

South Korea has temporarily agreed not to impose sanctions on the U.S. for a zeroing methodology the Commerce Department used to calculate duties on large residential washers from Seoul as it pushes Washington to modify a Section 232 product exclusion process for steel and aluminum imports, sources tell Inside U.S. Trade.

If the Trump administration hits Seoul with tariffs as a result of its Section 232 autos investigation, the amended U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement “becomes meaningless,” Korea’s minister of trade, industry and energy said on Thursday.

The 20-year extension of the 25 percent U.S. duty on light and medium and heavy trucks agreed to in principle by the Trump administration and Korean government as part of the revised U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement would continue to dissuade Korean exporters from entering the U.S. truck market, the U.S. International Trade Commission reported Monday in an analysis requested by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Adm. Harry Harris is bound for Seoul, while hotelier Gordon Sondland will head to Europe.