Reciprocal tariffs under FTA?

[Anchor]

President Trump has announced plans to widen the front of the so-called trade war.

He stated that he would impose reciprocal tariffs on many countries.

There is no guarantee that South Korea will not be among them.

In fact, our country has a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, so most tariffs do not apply.

This could serve as a shield.

However, we cannot be complacent because our trade surplus with the U.S. is significant.

This is reporter Kim Ji-sook.

[Report]

President Trump's reciprocal tariffs set out for the U.S. to impose tariffs at the same level as the trade barriers of the counterpart country.

For example, since the European Union imposes a 10% tariff on American cars, the U.S. would raise the 2.5% tariff on European cars to 10%.

[Donald Trump/President of the United States/Yesterday: "I'll be announcing that next week. Reciprocal trade. So that we're treated evenly with other countries. We don't want any more or any less."]

This means the U.S. will be adjusting its tariffs based on the tariffs of other countries, but under the FTA between South Korea and the U.S., many of the products traded between the two countries have been tariff-free.

Merely under the concept of reciprocal tariffs, the U.S. should also apply a 0% tariff to products made in Korea, where the tariff on American goods is 0%.

However, if reciprocity is applied based on trade balance, Korea could be targeted.

From the U.S. perspective, Korea ranks as the 8th largest trade deficit country, with Korea's trade surplus last year amounting to 81 trillion won.

In fact, Trump had announced a 25% additional tariff on Mexico and Canada, which have trade agreements similar to the FTA, and achieved results such as strengthening border security.

There are also predictions that the U.S. may demand renegotiation of the Korea-U.S. FTA or pressure for non-tariff barrier reforms in addition to reciprocal tariffs.

This is Kim Ji-sook from KBS News in Washington.