Senate GOP push for possible Section 301 tariffs on South Korea
Sen. Bernie Moreno urged U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to consider tariffs on South Korea over its treatment of Coupang, citing onerous compliance, fines and biased enforcement, and requesting a Section 301 investigation.
Sen.
Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, is urging US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to consider imposing tariffs on South Korea over its treatment of Coupang.
Sen.
Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, is urging US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to consider imposing tariffs on South Korea over its treatment of Coupang — the latest sign of how the online retailer has wielded its Republican ties. “Seoul is currently conducting a campaign of open hostility toward foreign enterprises,” Moreno writes Thursday in a letter to Greer, shared first with Semafor, that cites “onerous compliance requirements, excessive monetary fines, criminal prosecution of business executives, and biased regulatory enforcement.” Moreno requests in the letter that Greer consider opening an investigation under Section 301, the same trade authority President Donald Trump invoked to impose tariffs.
Doing so would further derail trade talks with one of America’s staunchest allies, which denies treating Coupang differently than Korean companies.
It would also add to tensions in the relationship, after Trump scaled back joint military exercises amid suspicions South Korea is slow-walking US investment.