Trimtabist

The independent observatory for US trade — ship movements, customs records and policy events, measured and tested.

What South Korea actually pays on HS 8427.20

Importers of HS 8427.20 (other) from Korea, South actually paid 18.42% on the taxed portion of the value in 2026-06 — 17.63% across everything shipped, taxed or not. Measured from official duty receipts, not the rulebook: the statutory MFN base rate on this code is Free. Over the window the rate on the taxed portion moved null% → 18.42%, with the largest single step -12.7pp in 2025-12. Measured from official US duty receipts · as-of 2026-06 · confidence: measured, not modelled. The HTS base rate is Free — importers actually paid 18.42%, so the trade-war overlay added 18.4 pts, measured at the border (not a summed rulebook estimate). Reproduce exactly: tariff_story(hs: "8427.20", origin: "Korea, South") · see it at trimtabist.com/tariffs

South Korea paid 18.42% on HS 8427.20 — the schedule says Free Collected rate on the taxed value — measured from US duty receipts, not the rulebook 18.42% HTS base Free — the rulebook floor2025-042025-112026-06 Measured · as-of 2026-06 · Trimtab US Tariffs & Trade Ledger · trimtabist.com

HS 8427.20. The schedule base rate is Free; importers from South Korea actually paid 18.42% on the dutiable value in 2026-06 — the trade-war overlay added 18.4 points, measured at the border. Measured, not modelled.

Over the window the collected rate moved % (2023-07) → 18.42% (2026-06), largest single step -12.7pp in 2025-12.

Landed cost vs the benchmark

Korea, South's lower duty (17.63% vs 47.25%) lets it price up to 25.2% above China at the factory and still match on duty-inclusive customs cost. But on the LATEST measured prices, China actually lands cheaper — $5.07/kg vs $6.74/kg (duty in, freight out).

Go deeper

All goods from South Korea · the whole tariff ledger · reproduce: tariff_story(hs: "8427.20", origin: "South Korea") via /connect. Not customs or legal advice.

In print: “What South Korea actually pays on HS 8427.20 (HS 8427.20)” — Trimtab US Trade Ledger (TT-010 Duty receipts), US Census imports-for-consumption records — trimtabist.com/tariff/842720/south-korea