US Singles Out Korea Over Network Usage Fee Policy: "Korea Is the Only One in the World"
by Cha Minyoung
Published 28 Apr.2026 07:38(KST)
Updated 28 Apr.2026 09:51(KST)
Listing 'Foreign Trade Barriers' on X
Citing 10 Countries Including Europe, Australia, and Japan
The Donald Trump administration in the United States once again expressed dissatisfaction with South Korea's network usage fee policy on the 27th (local time).
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) posted on X (formerly Twitter) that "no country in the world imposes network usage fees on its domestic internet service providers for transmitting internet traffic-except for South Korea."
On this day, the USTR publicly criticized a total of 10 countries, including South Korea, Costa Rica, T?rkiye, Colombia, Japan, the Dominican Republic, Nigeria, Australia, Brazil, and the European Union (EU), as examples of "ridiculous foreign trade barriers" faced by American exporters.
Jamieson Greer, the United States Trade Representative, cited digital services taxes, pharmaceutical pricing, and rice market access as additional areas for possible investigation when launching a Section 301 trade investigation last month regarding overproduction and forced labor. In particular, the digital sector is considered a sensitive issue in the United States, where Big Tech companies wield significant influence.
The USTR also reiterated its criticism of non-tariff barriers in its "2026 National Trade Estimate Report (NTE Report)" released on March 31, specifically highlighting the South Korean government's digital platform regulatory bills, restrictions on the overseas transfer of location-based data, and the network usage fee policy, which have been recurring complaints among major U.S. Big Tech companies.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.