Seoul: The government on Wednesday pledged continued efforts to stably manage trade relations with the United States by communicating on issues raised by the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in its latest annual report on foreign trade barriers. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources announced plans to hold a meeting of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) joint committee to discuss the implementation of agreements on non-tariff trade barrier issues made as part of their tariff deal finalized late last year.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the announcement follows the release of the USTR's 2026 National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report, which lists what the U.S. identifies as "trade barriers" of its trading partners, including South Korea. The Ministry noted that the USTR expanded its assessment scope in this year's report to include non-market policies, practices, labor, and environmental issues.

Last month, the USTR initiated consecutive trade inquiries into South Korea and other major economies, seeking to address what it considers "unfair" trade practices linked to structural excess capacity, production, and the importation of goods produced with forced labor. This move appears to aim at reinstating trade-related measures previously imposed by Washington before the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated U.S. President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs, as indicated by Seoul officials.

The 2026 NTE report highlighted several issues concerning Seoul's digital regulation efforts and sanitary and phytosanitary barriers, which had mostly been cited in earlier reports. Specifically, the report noted that South Korea lacks a ban on importing goods produced with forced or compulsory labor. It referenced a 2025 "withhold release order" by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection against sea salt products from a South Korean salt farm due to forced labor concerns.

Seoul submitted a written opinion on the latest USTR report in February and has continued consultations with the U.S. up to its release, as reported by officials.