A slap in the face
Cars have been at the center of trade disputes between Korea and the U.S. for more than 30 years. When Korean cars began making inroads into the U.S. in the late 1980s and early 1990s, U.S. auto manufacturers complained that both tariff and non-tariff barriers were keeping their products out of Korea. Although Seoul would make some concessions, the number of U.S. cars sold in Korea remained extremely low.