Question 1

How long does shipping from Korea to the USA take?

Accepted Answer

A direct sailing from Busan to Los Angeles or Long Beach takes roughly two weeks; Busan is the Korean call on most trans-Pacific services, and Gwangyang and Incheon are on some rotations. To the East Coast, plan on about four to five weeks to New York, or compare West Coast discharge plus rail for inland and eastern deliveries. Add origin trucking and US clearance and delivery for the door-to-door figure, which we confirm per booking. Factories and offices close for Seollal (Lunar New Year) and Chuseok in early autumn, and the weeks before both are busy.

Question 2

What is the tariff on shipping from Korea to the USA?

Accepted Answer

Three layers decide it. First the base duty: the KORUS rate if the goods qualify and you claim it, otherwise the normal (MFN) rate. Second, since 24 July 2026, a Section 301 tariff that brings the total up to a set level for Korean goods; where the base duty already reaches that level nothing is added, and listed products — computers, most semiconductors and certain raw materials among them — are exempt. Third, goods under Section 232 sit outside that layer and pay their own tariff: steel, aluminum and copper products and listed derivatives, charged on full value since April 2026, and Korean cars and covered auto parts at the reduced all-in rate agreed in the US–Korea deal. Antidumping and countervailing duties apply on top for products under an order, and a separate Section 301 investigation into excess capacity that includes Korea is still open. Our licensed customs brokers confirm the total for your HS code at quoting.

Question 3

Does the KORUS free trade agreement still lower the duty?

Accepted Answer

On some goods, so it is worth checking line by line. Because the Section 301 tariff tops most Korean goods up to a set total, a KORUS claim can save less than it used to. It still pays where the normal duty is above that level — many textiles and footwear, for example — and on goods exempt from the Section 301 layer, where KORUS can still take the duty to zero. A KORUS claim needs no set form: the importer, exporter or producer certifies that the goods meet the rules of origin in General Note 33 of the US tariff schedule, and the records behind that certification have to be produced if CBP asks.

Question 4

Can you ship lithium-ion batteries from Korea to the USA?

Accepted Answer

Yes, as Class 9 dangerous goods: UN3480 for cells and packs on their own, UN3481 when packed with or inside equipment, and UN3536 for battery storage systems installed in a container. Each design needs a UN38.3 test summary, the cargo is packed, marked and declared under the IMDG Code, and the booking goes to a carrier and routing that accept it. On the duty side, batteries made as the main power source for electric vehicles can fall under the Section 232 auto-parts tariff, while other lithium-ion batteries pay the Section 301 total. Origin gets close attention: Korean customs has caught Chinese battery materials declared as Korean, and lithium is a high-priority sector under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, so we ask for the cell and material supply chain before booking.

Question 5

Are goods made in Korea with Chinese parts treated as Korean?

Accepted Answer

Only if they were substantially transformed in Korea — made into a new article with a different name, character and use. Packing, labeling or simple assembly of Chinese components is not enough, and KORUS has its own, stricter rules for the free-trade rate, so a product can be Korean for marking and still not qualify for KORUS. Antidumping and countervailing duties on Chinese products can follow Chinese inputs into goods finished in Korea, CBP investigates evasion under the Enforce and Protect Act, and false origin claims are penalized under 19 USC 1592. Korea's customs service runs its own task force against Chinese goods relabeled as Korean for the US market. We ask the origin questions before booking.

Question 6

Who handles the Korea side of my shipment?

Accepted Answer

Our WCA partner agents in South Korea; AGF has no office there. They collect the cargo, prepare the export documents, file the export declaration in UNI-PASS, Korea's customs system, and load the container or deliver it to the terminal. We coordinate from Glendale, file the ISF at least 24 hours before loading in Korea, and take the shipment through US clearance and delivery. You can verify our FMC licence (OTI #031665NF) before you pay anyone — worth doing on any freight booking.

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