Imports from South Korea pay a 10% base reciprocal tariff — the Section 301 forced-labor tariff that replaced Section 122 on July 24, 2026 — a 15-point drop from the 25% IEEPA rate the Supreme Court struck down on February 20, 2026. Korea was one of the biggest winners of the ruling. And that's before KORUS FTA benefits: for goods that qualify under KORUS rules of origin, the MFN base drops to 0%, leaving only the 10% base reciprocal tariff. Here's the real math on Korean imports in 2026.
Current Korea Tariff Structure (Post-SCOTUS)
The baseline on Korean imports is the 10% base reciprocal tariff — the Section 301 forced-labor tariff that replaced Section 122 on July 24, 2026. Section 122 (effective February 24, 2026) had itself replaced the 25% IEEPA reciprocal rate after SCOTUS; the number has stayed 10% throughout for Korea, a standard-tier economy. KORUS FTA (the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement, in force since 2012) continues to eliminate MFN duty on roughly 95% of bilateral trade — most electronics, autos, machinery, consumer goods. But KORUS doesn't exempt the base reciprocal tariff; that's imposed under different authority. Steel from Korea is the quiet winner: under the 2018 bilateral quota arrangement, Korea accepted volume caps in exchange for 0% Section 232, keeping Korean mills out of the 50% hit that EU and Brazilian suppliers take. Because the base reciprocal tariff does not stack on the metal content of a Section 232 article, Korean in-quota steel pays 0% total, versus 50% on EU steel.
KORUS FTA — How to Claim 0% MFN
KORUS requires two things. First, the good must originate in Korea under the agreement's rules of origin — typically a tariff shift or a regional value content of 35-55% depending on the product. Second, the importer must claim preference on the entry. No claim, no duty-free. The claim goes on CBP Form 7501 by entering 'KR' as the SPI (Special Program Indicator) in column 27. You also need a KORUS Certificate of Origin on file — no specific form is required, but it must contain nine data elements including the producer, exporter, HS classification, and origin criterion. CBP can audit origin claims for five years. For high-value shipments, get a written origin affidavit from the Korean manufacturer and keep it with your entry documents.
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Worked Example: $20,000 Korean Auto Parts Shipment
Take a $20,000 CIF shipment of Korean transmission parts under HTS 8708.40. MFN rate: 2.5%. Under KORUS: 0%. Base reciprocal tariff: 10%. Without KORUS preference, duty = $500 MFN + $2,000 base reciprocal = $2,500 (12.5%). With KORUS claimed correctly, duty = $0 MFN + $2,000 base reciprocal = $2,000 (10%). MPF applies either way at 0.3464% ($69.28). HMF at 0.125% ($25) for ocean. Total landed duty with KORUS: $2,094.28. Without the claim: $2,594.28. That $500 delta on one container is why experienced importers audit their broker's SPI entries monthly. On a $2M annual program, it's $50,000 left on the table if nobody files the claim.
Steel Quota — Korea's Section 232 Carveout
Korean steel sits in a different tier from every other major supplier. Under the 2018 US-Korea arrangement, Korea accepted a hard export quota — roughly 70% of 2015-2017 shipments — in exchange for 0% Section 232 duty. Commerce administers the quota and allocates it among Korean producers. If the quota fills for a given quarter, additional shipments face the full 50% Section 232 — but it rarely fills in practice. On $100,000 of Korean hot-rolled steel: $0 Section 232 under the quota, and the base reciprocal tariff does not stack on the metal content = $0 duty (0%). The same shipment from Germany: $50,000 Section 232, with no base stacking on metal = $50,000 duty (50%). That's a 50-point cost advantage for Korean mills, and it's the main reason POSCO and Hyundai Steel hold market share in the US despite the quota cap.
Electronics, Semiconductors, and Autos
Korean electronics are not a blanket 10% plus 25% chip stack. The HTS calculator uses Column 1-General. KORUS can zero Column 1-Special when claimed; the 12.5% net ceiling (note 52(k), headings 9903.05.70–.71) is not applied from zero unless that Special claim is requested. Ordinary 8541/8542 goods are not a heading-wide 25% Section 232. MFN (General) basis - Special-claim/AVE not modelled. Passenger cars and light trucks (HTS 8702/8703/8704) are different: they pay the 25% auto Section 232, and KORUS does not waive it. KORUS still zeros the 2.5% MFN on qualifying passenger cars, so the headline is 25% — not the 10% forced-labor layer (232 replaces that layer on covered vehicles). Japanese cars typically land at 27.5% (2.5% MFN + 25% auto 232). German cars stay at the 15% EU-US deal ceiling in lieu of auto 232. Auto parts under HTS 8708 are not on the auto-232 heading list, so a KORUS-qualifying Korean part still pays the 10% forced-labor layer only.
What Changed July 24, 2026
The 10% Section 122 tariff on Korean imports expired on July 24, 2026 — 150 days after it took effect. It was not extended; instead, on July 24 it was replaced by the Section 301 forced-labor tariff, which keeps the same 10% base rate on Korea (a standard-tier economy). For KORUS-qualifying Korean goods, that means no change in the bottom line: 10% base reciprocal on MFN-exempt items, the same rate that applied under Section 122. Korean importers who wrote 2026 contracts with duty adjustment clauses tied to the July 24 date should confirm the clause language — the rate held at 10% rather than dropping to 0% or spiking. And watch USTR's Section 301 actions — the administration has floated Korea-specific measures around semiconductor subsidies and EV battery content.
Sourcing Korea vs Japan vs Taiwan
Three Asia-Pacific suppliers, three different cost profiles. Korea: 10% forced-labor on most goods, KORUS zeros MFN, steel quota keeps metal 232 at 0%, semiconductor 232 at 25%, auto 232 at 25% on 8702/8703/8704. Japan: 10% forced-labor, no FTA so MFN applies (2.5% on passenger cars + 25% auto 232 = 27.5%), steel at 50% Section 232. Taiwan: 10% forced-labor (was 32% IEEPA), no FTA, semiconductor 232 at 25%, steel at 50%. For apparel or consumer electronics with 2-5% MFN, Korea still wins by KORUS. For finished cars, Korea is 25% vs Japan's 27.5% — not the old 10% vs 12.5% story. For semiconductors, all three pay about 35% because Section 232 dominates. For steel, only Korea avoids the 50% hit.
Key Takeaway
South Korea is one of the better-case post-SCOTUS stories: 15 points off the base rate, KORUS keeps MFN duty at zero on most products, and the steel quota shields Korean mills from the 50% Section 232 that hammers EU and Brazilian suppliers. When Section 122 expired on July 24, 2026, the Section 301 forced-labor tariff replaced it at the same 10% base for Korea — so KORUS-qualifying effective rates held steady rather than falling to 0%. Claim KORUS preference correctly, keep origin documents on file, and audit your broker's SPI entries.
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