Regarding the memorandum on reciprocal trade and tariffs announced by the Trump administration on February 14, 2025 (KST), multiple foreign media outlets have reported that Korea's tariff rate on U.S. imports is approximately 13.6%, following Mexico and Canada.

According to the World Tariff Profile (July 2024), Korea's average Most Favored Nation (MFN) tariff rate is approximately 13.4%. However, Korea has established free trade agreements (FTAs) with many of its major trading partners, significantly reducing the effective tariff rates on imports from these countries.

In the case of the United States, Korea signed an FTA in June 2007 (effective March 2012). As of 2024, the average tariff rate on imports from the U.S. is approximately 0.79% based on the effective tariff rate before duty refunds. When duty refunds are considered, the effective rate is even lower and is expected to decline further in 2025 under the scheduled tariff reduction plan. For reference, under the Korea-U.S. FTA, tariffs on manufactured goods imported from the United States are 0%.