What a US buyer pays on Korean goods today
US duties are owed by the importer of record, usually the US buyer, not the Korean exporter. The liability is a personal debt of the importer to the United States.[7] Duties follow the country of origin and the 10-digit HTS line of the goods, not the port they ship from or the freight terms.
As of October 7, 2026, an entry of Korean-origin goods is built from these layers. Most shipments pay the first two, plus fees.
- The normal duty for the HTS line: the Column 1 General rate, or the KORUS rate (often free) for originating goods claimed under General Note 33.[4]
- The Section 301 forced-labor duty, since July 24, 2026. Where the Column 1 rate is below 12.5%, it adds the difference so the total is 12.5% (9903.05.71); where Column 1 is 12.5% or more, it adds nothing (9903.05.70).[1][2] Goods claimed under KORUS still pay it.[2] Computers, smartphones, many chips and other goods in U.S. note 52(b) are exempt.[2]
- Section 232 duties instead of the Section 301 duty on covered goods. Korean cars, light trucks and auto parts pay 15% in total; steel and aluminum pay 50%; medium and heavy trucks 25%.[2][3][8]
- Antidumping or countervailing duties on goods under a Commerce order, such as corrosion-resistant, hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel, oil country tubular goods and passenger car tires from Korea.[9][10][11][12]
- Fees: the merchandise processing fee on formal entries and, for ocean freight, the harbor maintenance fee.[13][14]
The US duty stack on goods from South Korea, October 7, 2026
The table lists every measure that applies, or applied during 2025 and 2026, to goods of South Korean origin. Where a row says "in total", the rate includes the Column 1 duty; otherwise it is added to it. The notes after the table explain the exemptions and how the rows combine.
| Measure | Rate | Applies to | Legal basis | Effective date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Column 1 duty: General or KORUS | Set by HTS line; KORUS rate for originating goods[4] | All Korean goods; KORUS claimed with indicator "KR"[4] | Harmonized Tariff Schedule; General Note 33[4] | In force |
| Section 301, forced labor (in force) | Column 1 topped up to 12.5% in total; nothing added at 12.5% or more[1] | All products of South Korea except the exemptions in note 1[2] | Section 301, Trade Act of 1974; USTR notice 91 FR 47318; 9903.05.70, 9903.05.71[1][2] | July 24, 2026[1] |
| Section 232, cars, light trucks and auto parts (in force) | 15% in total, counting the General or KORUS rate; nothing added at 15% or more[15] | Vehicles and parts covered by the auto proclamation[2] | Proclamation 10908; 9903.94.60 to 9903.94.65[16][2] | 15% from November 1, 2025; 25% before[15][16] |
| Section 232, metals (in force) | 50% (Annex I-A), 25% (Annex I-B), 15% combined (Annex III); Annex I-C 15% combined for Korea[3][17] | Steel, aluminum, copper and listed derivatives of any origin[3] | Proclamations 11021 and 11032; Annex I-C partner line 9903.82.22[2] | Full value from April 6, 2026[3] |
| Section 232, other programs (in force) | Trucks 25%, buses 10%; furniture and cabinets 15%; patented drugs 15%; drones 15%; listed chips 25%[8][2][18] | Covered products; Korea lines where the HTS has one[2] | 9903.74.01, 9903.76.23, 9903.04.62, 9903.08.24, 9903.79.01[2] | Program by program; see the Section 232 section |
| Antidumping and countervailing duties | Set by each order[19] | Goods under a Commerce order, mostly steel products[9] | Tariff Act of 1930, orders by Commerce | Order by order |
| Merchandise processing fee | 0.3464% within a per-entry minimum and maximum; limits reset October 1, 2026[13] | Formal entries | 19 U.S.C. 58c; 19 CFR 24.23[13] | Current limits since October 1, 2026[13] |
| Harbor maintenance fee | 0.125% of value[14] | Commercial cargo unloaded from a vessel at a covered US port[14] | 19 CFR 24.24[14] | In force |
| Section 122 surcharge (ended) | 10%[6] | Most imports; not on top of Section 232[6] | Section 122, Trade Act of 1974; Proclamation 11012; 9903.03.01[6] | February 24 to July 24, 2026[20] |
| IEEPA reciprocal tariff (ended) | 10% baseline; 25% for one day in April 2025; 15% on top from August 7, 2025; 15% in total from November 14, 2025[21][22][23][15] | Korean goods not in the exempt categories[21] | Executive Orders 14257 and 14326; 9903.02.56, 9903.02.79, 9903.02.80[2] | April 5, 2025 to February 23, 2026[21][5] |
Notes to the table
Each note applies to the rows named in it. The importer's licensed customs broker confirms which lines go on the entry.
- Note 1, Section 301 exemptions. The duty does not apply to goods listed in U.S. note 52(b) to Chapter 99 (9903.05.86), which include computers and computer parts (8471, 8473.30), smartphones (8517.13.00), semiconductor manufacturing machines (8486.20) and many chip lines of 8541 and 8542; nor to the 16 articles in note 52(c), qualifying civil aircraft and parts, listed articles for pharmaceutical use, or Section 232 goods.[2] South Korea has no country-specific exemption list of its own in the action.[1]
- Note 2, KORUS and the 12.5%. Goods eligible for a free trade agreement rate still pay the Section 301 duty.[2] Where a Korean good is entered under a KORUS rate, the 12.5% total is measured from that Column 1-Special rate (heading 9903.05.71 sets 12.5% in the Special column too), and U.S. note 52(k) converts a specific or compound KORUS rate to an ad valorem equivalent.[2] So a good that enters free under KORUS pays 12.5%, the same total as a good with a 3% General rate.
- Note 3, Section 232 and Section 301. Goods that pay a Section 232 duty on metals, cars and light trucks and their parts, medium and heavy trucks and their parts, wood products, patented pharmaceuticals or covered semiconductors are exempt from the Section 301 duty (9903.05.90).[2]
- Note 4, stacking. Goods that pay the Section 301 duty also pay any other additional duty in Chapter 99 subchapters III and IV, except where U.S. note 52 says otherwise, and they stay subject to antidumping and countervailing duties.[2]
- Note 5, autos and metals. Korean vehicles and parts that pay the 15% auto rate do not also pay the steel, aluminum or copper duties.[24][2]
- Note 6, in-transit rule. Goods loaded on the vessel before 12:01 a.m. ET on July 24, 2026 and entered before 12:01 a.m. ET on July 28, 2026 were exempt from the Section 301 duty (9903.05.85).[2]
Section 301: why Korean goods pay 12.5% in total
On July 28, 2026 USTR published actions in 60 Section 301 investigations of economies that fail to impose and enforce a ban on imports made with forced labor.[1] For South Korea, Japan and Switzerland the President directed a capped duty: the Column 1 rate and the Section 301 duty together come to 12.5%, and no Section 301 duty is added where the Column 1 rate is already 12.5% or more. USTR said capping total duties this way is consistent with the agreements these economies reached with the United States.[25][1]
So any Korean good that is not exempt or under Section 232, and whose Column 1 or KORUS rate is below 12.5%, pays 12.5% in total. Thailand, Vietnam and China pay 12.5% on top of the normal duty, and India and Indonesia 10% on top.[1]
This is not the China Section 301 program. The China lists, exclusions and rates are covered in our Section 301 guide.
Section 232 as it applies to Korean goods
Section 232 duties apply by product. For Korea, several programs carry a lower partner rate written into the HTS, and the others apply at the general rate. Full rates, lines and dates for every program are in our Section 232 guide.
- Cars, light trucks and auto parts: 15% in total. Commerce and USTR replaced the 25% auto duty on Korean vehicles and parts with a rate that brings the Column 1 duty plus the Section 232 duty to 15%, or zero added where Column 1 is 15% or more, for goods entered from November 1, 2025. For Korea, "Column 1" means the General or the KORUS rate, so a car that enters free under KORUS pays 15%.[15][2]
- Steel, aluminum and copper: general rates. Korean steel and aluminum articles pay 50% of the full customs value (Annex I-A) and Annex I-B goods 25%.[3] Korea is one of the partners whose Annex I-C mobile industrial equipment pays 15% in total (9903.82.22).[17][2] Korean civil aircraft, engines and parts covered by the WTO Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft came out of the IEEPA and metals duties from November 14, 2025, and the 2026 metals proclamation left that carve-out in place.[15][3]
- Medium and heavy trucks and buses: general rates. 25% on trucks and their parts and 10% on buses; the HTS has no Korea line.[8][2]
- Wood products. Upholstered wooden furniture and kitchen cabinets and vanities of Korea pay 15% under 9903.76.23, in place of the general 25%. Softwood timber and lumber pay the general 10%.[15][2]
- Patented pharmaceuticals: 15% under 9903.04.62, against 100% for most origins; generics are not covered.[26][2]
- Drones and listed drone components: at most 15% in total for Korea under 9903.08.24 since September 3, 2026, where the importer certifies that substantially all critical components and technology come from the United States or the listed partners; otherwise the general 100% or 25% applies.[27][2]
- Semiconductors. The 25% duty on a narrow set of advanced chips (9903.79.01) has no Korea-specific line, and many memory and logic chip lines are in the Section 301 exemption list.[18][2]
- Polysilicon (from December 4, 2026). Polysilicon and its derivatives come under a minimum import price program, and ingots and derivatives also pay a 15% duty; for Korea the Column 1 rate plus that duty equals 15%.[28]
The US-Korea deal and KORUS: what reached the tariff schedule
The United States and Korea announced the Korea Strategic Trade and Investment Deal in July 2025 and reaffirmed it in a joint fact sheet on November 13, 2025. Commerce and USTR put its tariff terms into the HTS by a notice published December 4, 2025.[15] It set the IEEPA reciprocal tariff on Korean goods so that the General or KORUS rate plus the tariff equaled 15% from November 14, 2025; set the same 15% formula for Section 232 cars and parts from November 1, 2025, and for Korean upholstered wooden furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities from November 14, 2025; and took Korean civil aircraft and parts out of the IEEPA and metals duties.[15]
When IEEPA tariffs ended on February 24, 2026, the 15% reciprocal treatment ended with them.[29][5] The Section 232 terms survived because they rest on Section 232, not IEEPA: cars and parts and wood products at 15%, the civil aircraft carve-out, and the later 15% partner lines for patented drugs, drones and Annex I-C equipment.[2] The Section 301 cap at 12.5% came from the July 2026 forced-labor action.[1]
KORUS is unchanged in the HTS: originating Korean goods can still claim the special rates in General Note 33.[4] The free rate no longer means a duty-free entry for most goods, because the Section 301 and Section 232 duties apply on top of it. As of October 7, 2026, USTR's list of signed Agreements on Reciprocal Trade did not include Korea.[30] Announcements about investment, purchases or future tariff treatment are not duty rates; treat a rate as in force only once it appears in the HTS, the Federal Register or a CBP message.
What changed, and what is scheduled: April 2025 to December 2026
Each date is the first day the change applied, or applies, to goods entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse, at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time unless noted.
- April 3, 2025. 25% Section 232 duty on imported passenger vehicles and light trucks; auto parts followed on May 3, 2025.[16][2]
- April 5, 2025. 10% IEEPA baseline tariff on goods from nearly all countries, including Korea.[21]
- April 9, 2025. Korea's country rate of 25% in Annex I of Executive Order 14257 takes effect; it is suspended the next day, when Korean goods go back to 10%.[22][31]
- August 7, 2025. Korea's reciprocal rate is set at 15% on top of the normal duty (9903.02.56).[23][2]
- August 29, 2025. Duty-free de minimis treatment is suspended for goods from all countries, Korea included.[32]
- November 1, 2025. Korean cars and auto parts move from 25% to 15% in total under Section 232.[15]
- November 14, 2025. Korea's reciprocal tariff becomes 15% in total, counting the General or KORUS rate (9903.02.79, 9903.02.80); Korean civil aircraft and parts come out of the IEEPA and metals duties.[15][2]
- February 20, 2026. The Supreme Court holds in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs. Executive Order 14389 ends the IEEPA tariff actions the same day.[33][29]
- February 24, 2026. CBP stops collecting IEEPA duties (from 12:00 a.m. ET). The 10% Section 122 surcharge starts at 12:01 a.m. ET.[5][20]
- April 6, 2026. Section 232 metals duties move to the full customs value, with the annex tiers at 50%, 25% and 15%.[3]
- July 24, 2026. The Section 122 surcharge expires, and the Section 301 forced-labor duty on Korea begins, capped at 12.5% in total.[6][1]
- September 29, 2026. Section 232 duties on patented pharmaceuticals apply to all companies, at 15% for Korea.[26][2]
- December 4, 2026. Section 232 action on polysilicon and its derivatives begins: a minimum import price program, plus a duty on ingots and derivatives that brings Korean goods to 15% with Column 1.[28]
IEEPA tariffs on Korea and refunds
Executive Order 14257 of April 2, 2025 listed South Korea at 25%.[22] That rate applied for one day before the 90-day pause, so Korean goods paid the 10% baseline until August 7, 2025, then 15% on top of the normal duty, and from November 14, 2025 a 15% all-in rate.[31][23][15] KORUS-qualifying goods were not exempt; the November change counted the KORUS rate toward the 15%.[15] Section 232 goods were outside the reciprocal tariff.[21]
On February 20, 2026 the Supreme Court held that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs, and CBP stopped collecting all IEEPA duties on goods entered from February 24, 2026. Section 232 and Section 301 duties were not affected.[33][5]
IEEPA duties already paid on Korean goods are being refunded with interest through CBP's CAPE process. Only the importer of record, or the licensed customs broker that filed the entries, can file a CAPE declaration, and refunds go to the importer of record or to the party it designated as the notify party on CBP Form 4811 or in its ACE Portal account.[34] A Korean exporter that was not the importer of record has no claim of its own. See the tariff refund guide for the steps and deadlines, and get an IEEPA refund estimate for what your entries paid.
Section 122: the 10% surcharge, February 24 to July 24, 2026
Proclamation 11012 replaced the IEEPA tariffs with a 10% surcharge on most imports under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, reported under 9903.03.01. It applied to goods entered from February 24, 2026 through July 24, 2026, with exemptions listed in its annexes, including passenger vehicles, certain vehicle parts and anything subject to Section 232; KORUS goods were not among the exemptions.[6][20]
The Court of International Trade held the Section 122 duties unlawful on May 7, 2026, but ordered relief only for the three plaintiffs it found had standing.[35] On June 11, 2026 the Federal Circuit stayed that judgment while the government appeals.[36] As of October 7, 2026, CBP's refund page describes CAPE as a process for IEEPA duties.[34] Our Section 122 refund status page tracks the appeal and totals what your entries paid.
Antidumping and countervailing duty orders on Korean products
Antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CVD) duties are set by Commerce for a named product from a named country, often at a company-specific cash deposit rate. They are paid on top of the Column 1 duty and any Section 301 or 232 duty, and KORUS does not remove them.[2][19] Most orders in force on Korean products cover steel. They include:
- Corrosion-resistant steel, AD and CVD, since July 2016.[9][37] On April 2, 2026 Commerce opened a circumvention inquiry into Korean-made components finished in Thailand.[38]
- Hot-rolled steel flat products (AD), since October 2016.[10]
- Oil country tubular goods, AD since 2014 and CVD since November 2022.[11][39]
- Passenger vehicle and light truck tires (AD), since July 2021.[12]
- Large power transformers (AD), continued in September 2024.[40]
- Utility scale wind towers (AD), continued in March 2026.[41]
- Certain monomers and oligomers (AD), applicable from July 28, 2026.[42]
- Others include non-oriented electrical steel, cold-rolled steel, stainless steel sheet and strip and epoxy resins. Browse the full list in our AD/CVD lookup.
De minimis and fees
De minimis. Low-value shipments from Korea no longer enter duty-free under the de minimis rule; the exemption has been suspended for every country since August 29, 2025.[32][43] Our de minimis guide covers the entry types and dates.
Fees. The merchandise processing fee is 0.3464% of the value of a formal entry, within a per-entry minimum and maximum that reset on October 1, 2026.[13] The harbor maintenance fee is 0.125% of the value of commercial cargo unloaded from a vessel at a covered US port; it applies to ocean freight, not air.[14] See US customs clearance for how entries are handled.
How to find the rate for your product
The duty depends on the 10-digit HTS line, whether the goods qualify for KORUS, and the entry date. These steps get you to an estimate. Your licensed customs broker confirms it on the entry.
- Classify the product to 10 digits with the HTS code finder.
- Open the tariff simulator with South Korea as origin, enter the code and the entry date, and it lists the Column 1 duty, each Chapter 99 duty in force on that date, MPF and HMF.
- Compare with ready-made pages for common Korean exports, such as passenger cars, cosmetics, battery parts, smartphones and memory chips, or browse import duty by HTS code.
- Check whether the line is in the Section 301 exemption lists or covered by Section 232 or an antidumping order. Our analysis of duty paid by origin shows how these layers add up across trading partners.
- Ask the importer's licensed customs broker to confirm the KORUS claim and the Chapter 99 lines before the goods ship.