A busy week. Washington widened the tariff relief Korea negotiated last fall, even as a separate forced-labor action cut the other way, and the won slid to a 17-year low. Here is what mattered.
Metals tariff relief widens, Korea a clear winner. On June 1, the White House adjusted Section 232 duties on steel, aluminum, and copper, with changes effective June 8. Forklifts, bulldozers, and tractors from deal partners including Korea drop to a 15% cap, and Seoul estimates roughly $2.3 billion in exports benefit. It builds directly on the November strategic trade and investment framework.
But a forced-labor tariff cuts the other way. Two days later, on June 3, reports surfaced of a new US tariff of up to 12.5% on certain Korean goods tied to forced-labor concerns. A reminder that sector relief and enforcement actions can move in opposite directions in the same week.
Chip stocks wobble on US weakness. Samsung and SK hynix opened down about 4% Friday after a sharp US chip selloff, with Broadcom off 12% and Micron down 7%. The two names remain the core of the global memory trade, so US sentiment still sets the tone for Korea's largest exporters.
Hanwha lands its first US Navy work under MASGA. Hanwha, with Vard Marine US, won a subcontractor role on the Navy's Next Generation Logistics
Ship program, its first US naval project under the $150 billion MASGA shipbuilding push.
BCW Take.
The tariff picture is now two-track: broad relief for deal partners alongside targeted enforcement, so do not read the headline cut as all-clear. With the won this weak and chips volatile, expect Korean majors to keep leaning into US onshoring, shipbuilding, and metals, where the 15% cap gives them a planning anchor for the back half of the year.
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