Trimtabist

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

What South Korea actually pays on of lead-acid storage batteries

Importers of HS 8507.90 (of lead-acid storage batteries) from Korea, South actually paid 10.64% on the taxed portion of the value in 2026-06 — 3.25% across everything shipped, taxed or not. Measured from official duty receipts, not the rulebook: the statutory MFN base rate on this code is 3.5%. Over the window the rate on the taxed portion moved 3.4% → 10.64%, with the largest single step +9.7pp in 2025-05. Measured from official US duty receipts · as-of 2026-06 · confidence: measured, not modelled. The HTS base rate is 3.5% — importers actually paid 10.64%, so the trade-war overlay added 7.1 pts, measured at the border (not a summed rulebook estimate). Reproduce exactly: tariff_story(hs: "8507.90", origin: "Korea, South") · see it at trimtabist.com/tariffs

South Korea paid 10.64% on HS 8507.90 — the schedule says 3.5% Collected rate on the taxed value — measured from US duty receipts, not the rulebook 10.64% HTS base 3.5% — the rulebook floor2023-072024-122026-06 Measured · as-of 2026-06 · Trimtab US Tariffs & Trade Ledger · trimtabist.com

HS 8507.90. The schedule base rate is 3.5%; importers from South Korea actually paid 10.64% on the dutiable value in 2026-06 — the trade-war overlay added 7.1 points, measured at the border. Measured, not modelled.

Over the window the collected rate moved 3.4% (2023-07) → 10.64% (2026-06), largest single step +9.7pp in 2025-05.

Landed cost vs the benchmark

Korea, South's lower duty (3.25% vs 37.58%) lets it price up to 33.2% above China at the factory and still match on duty-inclusive customs cost. But on the LATEST measured prices, China actually lands cheaper — $12.55/kg vs $20.9/kg (duty in, freight out).

The trade-war measures that name South Korea or this sector

2 Chapter-99 measures name Korea, South; scope mapping is partial (several annexes are PDFs) — absence never means exemption. They do not sum, and some are product-specific — the collected rate above is the composed truth.

Notice of Implementation of Additional Duties on Products of India Pursuant to the President's Executive Order
measure 9903.01.84 · Federal Register citation
+25%
9903.79.01
measure 9903.79.01
+25%

Go deeper

All goods from South Korea · the whole tariff ledger · 5 CBP rulings cite this code · reproduce: tariff_story(hs: "8507.90", origin: "South Korea") via /connect. Not customs or legal advice.

In print: “What South Korea actually pays on of lead-acid storage batteries (HS 8507.90)” — Trimtab US Trade Ledger (TT-010 Duty receipts), US Census imports-for-consumption records — trimtabist.com/tariff/850790/south-korea