During the April 16, 2026 US House Appropriations Committee Hearing on the USTR budget, Congressman Ben Cline of Virginia’s Sixth District questioned Ambassador Greer concerning the discrimination against US tech companies by the KFTC. At one point, Cline asked Greer to “lean hard on them.”
Cline cited the recent study by the Competere Foundation showing the damage to the US GDP per capita by the Korean agency’s targeting of US firms.
Here is the transcript of the interchange:
Cline: The 2026 National Trade Estimate report identified Korea’s digital trade policies, including KFTC’s enforcement campaign and the Fairness Act, as significant barriers to U.S. companies. Research by the Competere Foundation estimates that Korea’s policies could cost the U.S. economy 525 billion over the next decade, with American households losing nearly $4,000 each. What specific enforcement mechanisms is USTR using to hold Korea to its commitments under the Joint Fact Sheet? And as you know, the Korean government continues its transparent discrimination against U.S. digital companies. At what point does continued Korean defiance trigger formal trade actions?
Greer: As you know, we have a Joint Fact Sheet with Korea where they specifically agreed and committed not to use these types of laws or rules on a discriminatory basis. And so this is something where we’re holding their feet to the fire. You know, we have tools, Section 301 is a tool that I’ve talked about today, and some of you have discussed. This is something we can use if we need to. Again, I’ve had conversations with my counterpart in Korea. I’ve spoken with the Prime Minister of Korea about this issue. I know there are a lot of views domestically about big tech companies and regulation and that kind of thing. What I want is a situation where Congress gets to decide how American tech companies are controlled and not foreign jurisdictions, so we are very attentive to any suggestion of discrimination by foreign countries against our companies.
Cline: We need to be leaning on them pretty hard. Their proposed fairness access sets market thresholds that Chinese platforms like Tiktok, Temu, and Alibaba fall below, effectively exempting them from the regulations entirely, while American companies are bearing the full weight of the fines and operational mandates. To put it in perspective, just a quick glimpse at the new 1260H list of Chinese military companies included some of these firms, like Alibaba. Does the administration view Korea’s discriminatory treatment as a national security concern? And if so, is that concern being incorporated into how you’re approaching enforcement?
Greer: So if they were to follow through with this and apply these laws in a discriminatory way, we would take action. Until now, they have been proposing to speak to us and negotiate with us, because we are concerned about this, and you know, we are prepared to take action if we need to, because it’s not like there’s some other company waiting to step into the wings, other than some of these Chinese companies you’re talking about.