What South Korea ships to the United States
Among the 300 largest U.S. import headings, South Korea is a listed supplier on 190 of them, worth $64.4 billion in March–July 2026 (91.7% of all imports from South Korea in the period). The chapters below rank those headings; goods outside the 300 largest headings, and headings where South Korea is not among the top 15 origins, are in the total but not in the table.
| HS chapter | Value (March–July 2026) | Share of covered | Largest headings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 84 Machinery, mechanical appliances and computers · guide | $18.3 billion | 28.5% | 8473 Parts and accessories suitable ($12.6 billion); 8486 Machines and apparatus ($900 million); 8479 Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions ($487 million); 8418 Refrigerators ($374 million) |
| 85 Electrical machinery, electronics and parts · guide | $16.0 billion | 24.8% | 8523 Discs, tapes, solid-state non-volatile storage devices ($6.02 billion); 8542 Electronic integrated circuits ($2.27 billion); 8507 Electric storage batteries, including separators therefor ($1.71 billion); 8517 Telephone sets ($1.46 billion) |
| 87 Vehicles other than railway rolling stock · guide | $15.8 billion | 24.6% | 8703 Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed ($13.2 billion); 8708 Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles ($2.40 billion); 8701 Tractors ($170 million); 8716 Trailers and semi-trailers ($13.4 million) |
| 30 Pharmaceutical products · guide | $2.81 billion | 4.4% | 3002 Human blood ($2.76 billion); 3005 Wadding, gauze, bandages and similar articles ($38.9 million); 3003 Medicaments consisting ($7.9 million) |
| 27 Mineral fuels, oils and waxes · guide | $2.33 billion | 3.6% | 2710 Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals ($2.12 billion); 2707 Oils and other products of the distillation ($192 million); 2711 Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons ($19.1 million) |
| 39 Plastics and articles of plastic · guide | $1.36 billion | 2.1% | 3907 Polyacetals, other polyethers and epoxide resins ($352 million); 3918 Floor coverings of plastics ($213 million); 3926 Other articles of plastics and articles ($176 million); 3921 Other plates, sheets, film, foil and strip, of plastics ($160 million) |
| 33 Essential oils, perfumery and cosmetics · guide | $1.02 billion | 1.6% | 3304 Beauty or make-up preparations and preparations ($903 million); 3305 Preparations for use on the hair ($61.0 million); 3307 Pre-shave, shaving or after-shave preparations ($45.2 million); 3303 Perfumes and toilet waters ($7.1 million) |
| 76 Aluminium and articles of aluminium · guide | $938 million | 1.5% | 7606 Aluminum plates, sheets and strip ($728 million); 7607 Aluminum foil of a thickness not exceeding 0.2 mm ($93.5 million); 7602 Aluminum waste and scrap ($45.0 million); 7601 Unwrought aluminum ($29.2 million) |
Each heading links to its U.S. import market page, with every origin's share and effective duty. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Trade API, U.S. imports for consumption by HS10 and country of origin, public domain (work of the u.s. federal government); method as in our tariff-rates research.
Container ports in South Korea
The seaports below have a port page on this site with the UN/LOCODE, the classifiers and the lanes serving them. Which one your cargo uses depends on the factory's region and the carrier's service string; tell us the pickup address and we route it.
Any seaport's UN/LOCODE: port code finder; airports: airport code finder (IATA/ICAO).
U.S. duty treatment for goods from South Korea
- Column 1 general rate. Set by the HTS classification of the goods, not by the freight. South Korea is a U.S. free-trade-agreement partner (KORUS FTA): goods that meet the agreement's rules of origin, with a valid certification of origin, claim the preferential rate in its place. The preference does not remove Chapter 99 trade-remedy duties. How FTA claims work.
- Section 301, forced labour. Our tariff-updates source does not list South Korea's tier under the Section 301 forced-labour action of 2026-07-24, so this page does not state one. Confirm the tier and the exemption lines with your broker before pricing.
- Section 232. Applies regardless of origin: steel, aluminium and copper on full customs value in 50%, 25% and 15% annex tiers since 2026-04-06, plus vehicles and parts, lumber and furniture, trucks, semiconductors and drones under their own proclamations. Dated entries on the tariff updates tracker.
- IEEPA and Section 122. The IEEPA tariffs ended on 2026-02-24 after the Supreme Court decision of 2026-02-20, with refunds ordered; the Section 122 surcharge that replaced them expired on 2026-07-24. Neither applies to entries filed now.
- MPF and HMF. The merchandise processing fee and, for ocean cargo, the harbor maintenance fee apply on top of duty.
Estimate the total for an HTS code with South Korea as origin in the tariff simulator, or find the code first in the HTS code finder. Tariff facts above are dated as on the tracker; confirm with your broker before pricing.
U.S. import duty pages for goods from South Korea
Worked duty pages for the highest-value tariff lines imported from South Korea, with the Column 1 rate, every Chapter 99 line and a $10,000 example.
- Memory modules
- Solid-state non-volatile storage devices
- Motor cars and other motor vehicles
- Motor cars and other motor vehicles
- Motor cars and other motor vehicles
- Motor cars and other motor vehicles
- Immunological products
- Smartphones
- Dynamic random access memory (DRAM)
- Immunological products
- Aluminum can body stock
- Beauty or make-up preparations and preparations
12 more in this group. Rates are the engine's calculated total for a commercial entry today; see each page for the components and entry-date history. Browse all import duty pages or price your own shipment.
Transit from South Korea to the USA
Airlift has not published a planning range from South Korea to the USA, so this page does not quote one. Ask for the current sailing when you request a quote, or search live sailings for any port pair.
Documents for a shipment from South Korea to the USA
On the U.S. side every ocean import needs the same set, whatever the origin. On the South Korea side an export declaration is filed with the national customs authority by your forwarder or customs agent; we have not published the form's name for South Korea on this page, so ask us which one applies to your shipment.
- Importer Security Filing (ISF, "10+2"). Required by CBP for cargo arriving by vessel, filed before the container is laden; Airlift files it in-house. Details · glossary · CBP — Importer Security Filing (10+2)
- Customs bond. A continuous or single-entry bond in the importer's name, arranged through the customs broker before the entry is filed. Details
- Commercial invoice. Seller, buyer, terms of sale, a full description and value per line, and the country of origin; the entry is built on it. Details
- Packing list. Marks, package count, weights and dimensions per package, matching the invoice and the bill of lading. · glossary
Airlift's customs clearance service covers document review, HTS classification support, ISF and entry coordination through our licensed broker network at the port of entry. Less-than-container loads: LCL ocean freight.
Shipping from South Korea to the USA: questions
In the Census sample for March–July 2026, U.S. imports for consumption from South Korea totalled $70.2 billion. Among the 300 largest U.S. import headings, the biggest from South Korea were machinery, mechanical appliances and computers; electrical machinery, electronics and parts; vehicles other than railway rolling stock. The table on this page lists the headings with their values.
Other origins
Every origin by region: shipping to the USA by country of origin. Airlift's lane guides: shipping route guides.
Trade figures: U.S. Census Bureau, International Trade API, U.S. imports for consumption by HS10 and country of origin (March–July 2026, extract of 2026-09-03), public domain (work of the u.s. federal government). Port codes: UNECE UN/LOCODE 2024-2. Tariff facts: the dated entries on the tariff updates tracker and the sources linked above. Reviewed September 2026.
Request a quote: shipping from South Korea to the USA
Give us the pickup city or load port in South Korea, the U.S. destination, the commodity, the package count with weights and dimensions or the container size and count, the cargo-ready date, and whether you need pickup at origin, U.S. delivery or customs clearance. We reply with the freight rate, destination charges and the services included.