Korean firms unlikely to gain from ruling against Trump tariff

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order on tariffs at the White House in Washington, D.C., April 2, 2025. Reuters-Yonhap

The United States Court of International Trade struck down U.S. President Donald Trump’s 10 percent tariff imposition on most U.S. imports on Thursday (local time), marking another legal setback for the administration’s aggressive trade agenda.

However, the ruling is expected to have minimal impact on Korean exporters as the administration is likely to push ahead with alternative trade enforcement.

A three-judge panel ruled 2-1 that the administration unlawfully invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose a 10 percent tariff on nearly all imports in February after the Supreme Court invalidated Trump’s earlier reciprocal tariffs.

The Seoul government took a cautious stance on the new ruling. "The government plans to continue closely monitoring related developments and respond calmly under the principle of securing a balance of interests under existing tariff agreements,” Cheong Wa Dae said.

The court ruling is applied only to the plaintiffs and the Trump administration is expected to appeal, so it does not directly mean the 10 percent tariff on Korean goods will be lifted. However, it put another brake on Trump's trade policy that has rattled global economies, including Korea's.

Despite the significance, trade experts noted the ruling would have little practical effect on Korea as Washington has already been moving to apply a new tariff regime under Section 301, which allows the U.S. to impose unlimited tariffs on "unfair foreign practices."

“Experts had already expected the measure would be ruled illegal because Section 122 is intended for situations involving balance-of-payments crises and macroeconomic imbalances,” Heo Yoon, professor of international trade at Sogang University, said, adding that the “script is already prepared” to pivot to Section 301.

“The Trump administration likely knew it would be ruled illegal in the first trial, but by appealing and going to the Supreme Court for a final ruling, they will (have time to) shift to Section 301 in the meantime. They used it as a kind of bridge.”

A cargo ship is docked at the port of Oakland, Calif., Feb. 23, following the Supreme Court's ruling that U.S. President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when he imposed so-called "reciprocal" tariffs. Reuters-Yonhap

Jang Sang-sik, head of trade trend analysis at the Korea International Trade Association, added that the ruling only applies to plaintiff businesses and may not trigger immediate tariff refunds.

"Refunds may be delayed if the government suspends enforcement or appeals," he said. “The U.S. has repeatedly signaled that it would rely on Sections 232 and 301 afterward, so while the ruling is positive for Korean companies in principle, the immediate impact appears limited.”

With the Section 122 tariff set to expire after its 150-day limit in July, regardless of the ruling, Washington has been laying groundwork for a more comprehensive tariff regime using Section 301, which allows the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to investigate unfair foreign trade practices on a country-by-country basis.

The USTR launched Section 301 investigations in March targeting 16 economies, including Korea, China and Japan, over "structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors." Public hearings began on Tuesday and continued through Friday at the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington.

At the hearings, a Korean official has emphasized that Korea's industrial structure is based on market economy principles and that voluntary restructuring is underway in sectors with overcapacity, such as petrochemicals and steel.

Last month, the USTR held hearings on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, targeting 60 economies, including the three countries.

Heo warned that Section 301 may pose a greater threat to Korean exporters than the now-invalidated sweeping reciprocal tariff.

"Since Section 301 is for product-specific tariffs, unlike the previous reciprocal tariff, we need to be careful with products that generate large U.S. trade surpluses,” he said.

“As such products are mainly our core industries, including semiconductors, automobiles, shipbuilding and so on, we need to do our best to explain our position well to the U.S."