Trimtabist

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

What South Korea actually pays on memories

Importers of HS 8542.32 (memories) from Korea, South actually paid 12.01% on the taxed portion of the value in 2026-06 — 0% 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% → 12.01%, with the largest single step +15pp in 2025-08. Measured from official US duty receipts · as-of 2026-06 · confidence: measured, not modelled. The HTS base rate is Free — importers actually paid 12.01%, so the trade-war overlay added 12 pts, measured at the border (not a summed rulebook estimate). Reproduce exactly: tariff_story(hs: "8542.32", origin: "Korea, South") · see it at trimtabist.com/tariffs

South Korea paid 12.01% on HS 8542.32 — the schedule says Free Collected rate on the taxed value — measured from US duty receipts, not the rulebook 12.01% HTS base Free — the rulebook floor2025-042025-112026-06 Measured · as-of 2026-06 · Trimtab US Tariffs & Trade Ledger · trimtabist.com

HS 8542.32. The schedule base rate is Free; importers from South Korea actually paid 12.01% on the dutiable value in 2026-06 — the trade-war overlay added 12 points, measured at the border. Measured, not modelled.

Over the window the collected rate moved % (2023-07) → 12.01% (2026-06), largest single step +15pp in 2025-08.

Landed cost vs the benchmark

Korea, South's lower duty (0% vs 40.94%) lets it price up to 40.9% above China at the factory and still match on duty-inclusive customs cost. But on the LATEST measured prices, Korea, South actually lands cheaper — $11.98/kg vs $3877.26/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 · reproduce: tariff_story(hs: "8542.32", origin: "South Korea") via /connect. Not customs or legal advice.

In print: “What South Korea actually pays on memories (HS 8542.32)” — Trimtab US Trade Ledger (TT-010 Duty receipts), US Census imports-for-consumption records — trimtabist.com/tariff/854232/south-korea