The US and South Korea have reached an agreement to revise a trade deal between the countries and extend South Korea's exemption from the US' newly imposed tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, South Korea's trade ministry said Monday, according to media reports.
The two countries have reached an agreement "in principle" on changes to the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement, also known as KORUS, the South Korean trade ministry said in a statement. As part of the agreement, South Korea will limit its shipments of steel to the US to about 2.68 million mt annually, or 70% of the annual average Korean steel exports to the US between 2015 and 2017. The US had not released an official statement on the agreement as of early Monday.
It was announced last week that South Korea would receive a temporary exemption to the US' 25% tariff on steel imports and 10% tariff on aluminum imports, which took effect March 23. Canada, Mexico, the EU, Brazil, Argentina and Australia also received temporary exemptions from the tariffs that will last until May 1, unless a long-term agreement is reached.
South Korea was the third-largest source steel imports in the US in 2017, with the country exporting a total of 3.39 million mt to the US last year.
