The United States agreed to exempt South Korea from steel tariffs, but imposed a quota on
steel imports, South Korea’s trade ministry said on Monday.
Meanwhile, South Korea gave ground on automobile trade regulations by agreeing to changes in an existing bilateral free trade deal between the two countries, the ministry said.
South Korea has received a quota of about 2.68 million tonnes of steel exports, or 70 percent of the annual average Korean steel exports to the U.S. between 2015-2017, that will be exempt from the new tariffs, the ministry said in a statement.
South Korea and the United States also agreed that U.S. tariffs on Korean pickup trucks will be in place until 2041, extended by 20 years from the previous phase-out schedule of 2021.
Moreover, U.S. automakers will be able to bring into South Korea each year 50,000 vehicles per automaker that meet U.S., not necessarily Korean, safety standards — increased from 25,000
vehicles previously.