After U.S. President Donald Trump stated in his address to a joint session of Congress on March 4 (local time) that Korea’s average tariff rate is four times higher than that of the U.S., multiple media outlets reported on the comment.

Under the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), which entered into force in 2012, both Korea and the U.S. have eliminated tariffs on most goods. As of 2024, Korea’s effective tariff rate for goods imported from the U.S. is approximately 0.79%.

While Korea’s most-favored nation (MFN) applied tariff rate is 13.4% (approximately four times higher than the U.S. rate of 3.3%), this MFN rate differs from the KORUS preferential tariff rates that Korea applies to U.S. imports. MFN tariff rates apply to imports from members of the WTO (World Trade Organization) that do not have preferential trade agreements with Korea.

Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy 

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