White House trade official Peter Navarro has accused South Korea of flooding the U.S. market with subsidized steel and transshipped Chinese products, vowing to take enforcement action.

Peter Navarro, the White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, has publicly accused South Korea of inundating the U.S. market with heavily subsidized steel and steel products transshipped from China. In statements shared on social media and in recent media clips, Navarro alleged that South Korean exporters are circumventing existing 50 percent tariffs on steel. He stated that the administration intends to take action to address these practices, which he characterized as cheating.

Trade Tensions and Enforcement

Navarro’s comments follow ongoing trade friction regarding steel imports. Foreign steelmakers currently face tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which permits the U.S. president to adjust imports deemed a threat to national security. Despite these measures, Navarro claims that South Korean firms are bypassing the 50 percent tariff threshold. He indicated that the White House is preparing to crack down on these activities.

South Korean Investment Context

The accusations arrive amid significant South Korean industrial investment in the United States. Last month, Hyundai-POSCO Louisiana Steel LLC, a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and POSCO Holdings, began construction on an electric arc furnace-based steel mill in Louisiana, with completion expected by 2029. This project is part of a broader $26 billion investment plan by Hyundai Motor Group, with POSCO holding a 20 percent stake. Separately, South Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan recently urged the U.S. to support Korean companies investing domestically by easing tariffs on necessary equipment and materials shipped from South Korea.