Importers of HS 8544.49 (of copper) from Korea, South actually paid 13.31% on the taxed portion of the value in 2026-06 — 12.82% across everything shipped, taxed or not. Measured from official duty receipts, not the rulebook: the statutory MFN base rate on this code is 5.3%. Over the window the rate on the taxed portion moved 4.8% → 13.31%, with the largest single step -5.9pp in 2026-03. Measured from official US duty receipts · as-of 2026-06 · confidence: measured, not modelled. The HTS base rate is 5.3% — importers actually paid 13.31%, so the trade-war overlay added 8 pts, measured at the border (not a summed rulebook estimate). Reproduce exactly: tariff_story(hs: "8544.49", origin: "Korea, South") · see it at trimtabist.com/tariffs
HS 8544.49. The schedule base rate is 5.3%; importers from South Korea actually paid 13.31% on the dutiable value in 2026-06 — the trade-war overlay added 8 points, measured at the border. Measured, not modelled.
Over the window the collected rate moved 4.8% (2023-07) → 13.31% (2026-06), largest single step -5.9pp in 2026-03.
Korea, South's lower duty (12.82% vs 42.33%) lets it price up to 26.2% above China at the factory and still match on duty-inclusive customs cost. But on the LATEST measured prices, China actually lands cheaper — $3.42/kg vs $7.4/kg (duty in, freight out).
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.
All goods from South Korea · the whole tariff ledger · 1 CBP ruling cite this code · reproduce: tariff_story(hs: "8544.49", origin: "South Korea") via /connect. Not customs or legal advice.