Chairman Huh Chang-soo Sends Thank You Letter to U.S. Senators Advocating for Korea's Exclusion from Trade Expansion Act Section 232

[Asia Economy Reporter Su-yeon Woo] Huh Chang-soo, chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), sent a letter of appreciation on the 27th to a U.S. senator who advocated for excluding Korea from Section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act.

In the letter, Chairman Huh expressed gratitude to Senator Jerry Moran for "candidly raising the issues of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which causes supply difficulties for steel and aluminum, at a time when the U.S. is about to make large-scale infrastructure investments, and for pointing out that allies such as Korea do not pose a security threat to the United States, which is very timely."

In early September, Senator Moran urged U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to exclude allies such as Korea and Japan from Section 232 tariffs and quota allocations, which have been applied since 2018 on the grounds of national security threats.

According to Senator Moran, over the past three years, tariffs imposed under Section 232 on steel and aluminum caused consumer prices to rise by 4% last year, while steel prices increased by nearly 400%. The shortage of steel and aluminum supply within the U.S. intensified, leading manufacturers to relocate production bases outside the U.S. or reduce output, negatively impacting jobs and economic growth.

He further argued that as large-scale infrastructure investments in the U.S. are being promoted with bipartisan support, failure to resolve steel and aluminum supply chain issues would cause raw material shortages, disrupting infrastructure construction and ultimately diminishing the investment's effectiveness. He emphasized that major allies such as Korea and Japan are not national security threats under Section 232, and that cooperation with them to resolve supply issues is important.

Heo Chang-soo, Former Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries

Section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act is the legal basis for import restrictions on steel and aluminum products imposed by former President Trump in 2018. It grants authority to limit imports and impose tariffs if certain imported goods are deemed a threat to U.S. national security. Both the U.S. and business communities in Korea and other affected countries have continuously called for amendments to Section 232.

Previously, the FKI requested the U.S. Congress and administration in 2018, when the Section 232 administrative order was first fully implemented, to exclude Korea from the list of countries subject to steel import restrictions. In 2019, it requested the U.S. House and Senate leadership to exclude Korea from tariffs on imported automobiles and parts, and last year, at the Korea-U.S. Business Council meeting, it adopted a joint statement with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce urging amendments to Section 232.

This year, the FKI continued its efforts by congratulating the 117th U.S. House Korean-American members on their election and urging interest in amending Section 232. In April, it sent a letter of welcome and support to Republican and Democratic senators who introduced the 'Trade Security Act,' which effectively contains amendments to Section 232, and in June, during a meeting with former U.S. senators and representatives visiting Korea, it sought their cooperation on this matter.

Kim Bong-man, head of international cooperation at the FKI, said, "It is meaningful that a U.S. senator mentioned Korea as a key ally at a time when the importance of the Korea-U.S. alliance is being emphasized. This letter from the FKI is also a continuation of the Korean business community's position expressed so far, and we hope the law will be amended as soon as possible for the strong alliance between the two countries."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.