USTR Representative Grear [AFP=Yonhap News]

Following an editorial in a prominent U.S. newspaper criticizing the Trump administration's imposition of tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act as a ruse, USTR Representative Jamieson Grear directly responded.

According to the USTR on the 11th (local time), Representative Grear sent a letter to the Washington Post (WP) the previous day.

This was a rebuttal to WP's editorial on the 3rd, which described the Trump administration's decision to impose tariffs based on Section 301 of the Trade Act, citing imports of products made with forced labor, as a deception.

The WP editorial stated that the USTR's tariff imposition plan was "clearly a pretext for protectionism" and argued, "Otherwise, China would not have been subjected to the same tariffs as Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland."

The implication was that if forced labor were the real issue, then differential tariff rates would have been applied to China, where the forced labor issue is serious, and to countries where it is not.

Furthermore, the editorial criticized the use of tariffs based on Section 301 of the Trade Act to replace "retaliatory tariffs" that the Supreme Court ruled illegal in February. It also pointed out that legislation prohibiting the import of goods produced by forced labor has already existed separately for a century.

In his letter, Representative Grear stated, "The WP's opposition clearly stems from animosity towards President Trump," and argued, "American companies and workers are bearing significant compliance costs to eradicate forced labor from the U.S. supply chain, but other countries are not joining in."

He added, "The WP may want to ignore foreign forced labor, or may not want to write articles saying 'President Trump has done more than anyone to combat modern slavery,' but let me be clear. Under President Trump, the United States will not tolerate forced labor within global supply chains."

On the 2nd, the USTR announced plans to impose tariffs of 10% or 12.5% on 60 economic blocs, stating they had not taken adequate measures regarding imports of goods produced by forced labor. 46 economic blocs, including South Korea, Japan, and China, were subject to the 12.5% tariff.

The USTR is also conducting an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act, citing "overproduction" as an issue. South Korea is also a target country in this investigation.

However, Representative Grear stated on the 4th that there were no plans to impose tariffs beyond existing trade agreements. Under trade agreements, the tariff on South Korean exports to the U.S. is 15%.