White House official accuses S. Korea of flooding US with subsidized steel

Peter Navarro accused South Korea of flooding the U.S. market with heavily subsidized steel and Chinese steel transshipped through the country on Thursday. The White House trade official said Washington was taking action against the alleged practices and cited 50 percent steel tariffs. South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group and POSCO are building a Louisiana steel mill scheduled for completion in 2029.

Navarro serves as the White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing.

The U.S. steel tariffs are imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which permits presidential action against imports deemed to threaten national security.

South Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan urged Washington to ease tariffs on equipment and materials shipped from South Korea for Korean companies investing in the United States.

Hyundai-POSCO Louisiana Steel LLC is a joint venture involving Hyundai Motor Group and POSCO Holdings, with POSCO holding a 20 percent stake.

The Louisiana project is part of Hyundai Motor Group’s $26 billion U.S. investment plan announced last year.

Published Oct 9, 2026 3:24 am KST

White House trade counselor Peter Navarro speaks with reporters following a video interview with Real America's Voice News, Aug. 11, outside the White House in Washington. AP-Yonhap

WASHINGTON — A White House official on Thursday accused South Korea of flooding the U.S. market with heavily subsidized steel products and Chinese steel shipped through the country, warning that Washington is taking action to crack down on such purported measures.

"South Korea is inundating the U.S. with highly subsidized steel and steel transshipped from China," Peter Navarro, White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, wrote on social media platform X.

"We are cracking down," he added, while sharing a video clip of him speaking with reporters earlier this week on U.S. trade.

In the news video clip from Tuesday, Navarro said he wants to "call out" in particular South Korea for "inundating" the American market with highly subsidized Korean steel and transshipped steel from China.

"Even though we have very high tariffs, 50 percent on steel, they are blowing past that because they cheat, and we're gonna be doing something about that."

Foreign steelmakers in the U.S. face tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allows the U.S. president to adjust imports deemed to threaten national security, as well as other trade remedy measures, the ministry said.

South Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan last month urged Washington to pay close attention to difficulties facing Korean companies investing in the U.S. and support the project by easing tariffs on equipment and materials that need to be shipped from South Korea.

Last month, Hyundai-POSCO Louisiana Steel LLC, a joint venture between South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group and POSCO Holdings, broke ground for an electric arc furnace-based integrated steel mill construction project in the U.S. state of Louisiana scheduled to be completed in 2029.

The project is part of Hyundai Motor Group's $26 billion U.S. investment plan announced last year. POSCO has taken a 20 percent stake in the project.

周四，白宫贸易官员彼得·纳瓦罗指责韩国向美国市场大量倾销补贴钢铁，并称中国钢铁经韩国转运至美国。纳瓦罗表示，华盛顿正在对这些指控采取行动，并提及将对钢铁征收50%的关税。韩国现代汽车集团和浦项钢铁公司正在路易斯安那州建设一座钢铁厂，预计将于2029年竣工。

纳瓦罗担任白宫贸易和制造业高级顾问。

美国对钢铁征收关税是根据 1962 年《贸易扩展法》第 232 条的规定，该条款允许总统对被认为威胁国家安全的进口商品采取行动。

韩国产业通商资源部长金正冠敦促华盛顿降低对韩国向美国出口的设备和材料的关税，以帮助韩国企业在美国投资。

现代-浦项路易斯安那钢铁有限公司是现代汽车集团和浦项控股有限公司的合资企业，其中浦项持有 20% 的股份。

路易斯安那州项目是现代汽车集团去年宣布的260亿美元美国投资计划的一部分。

发布于2026年10月9日凌晨3:24（韩国标准时间）

8月11日，白宫贸易顾问彼得·纳瓦罗在华盛顿白宫外接受“美国之声”新闻网的视频采访后与记者交谈。（美联社-韩联社）

华盛顿——一位白宫官员周四指责韩国向美国市场大量投放补贴钢铁产品和经韩国运输的中国钢铁，并警告称华盛顿正在采取行动打击此类所谓的措施。

“韩国正向美国大量输送补贴力度极大的钢铁以及从中国转运的钢铁，”白宫贸易和制造业高级顾问彼得·纳瓦罗在社交媒体平台 X 上写道。

“我们正在严厉打击，”他补充道，同时分享了一段他本周早些时候与记者谈论美国贸易的视频片段。

在周二的新闻视频片段中，纳瓦罗表示，他特别想“点名批评”韩国，指责其用大量补贴的韩国钢铁和从中国转运的钢铁“淹没”美国市场。

“尽管我们对钢铁征收了高达 50% 的关税，但他们却能绕过这些关税，因为他们会作弊，我们将对此采取措施。”

该部表示，根据 1962 年《贸易扩展法》第 232 条，在美国的外国钢铁制造商将面临关税，该条款允许美国总统调整被认为威胁国家安全的进口商品，以及其他贸易救济措施。

韩国产业通商资源部长金正冠上个月敦促华盛顿密切关注韩国企业在美国投资所面临的困难，并通过降低从韩国运往美国的设备和材料的关税来支持该项目。

上个月，韩国现代汽车集团和浦项控股的合资企业现代-浦项路易斯安那钢铁有限公司在美国路易斯安那州破土动工，兴建一座以电弧炉为基础的综合炼钢厂，预计将于 2029 年完工。

该项目是现代汽车集团去年宣布的260亿美元美国投资计划的一部分。浦项钢铁已持有该项目20%的股份。