The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative(USTR) has again taken issue with pending South Korean bills calling for foreign online content providers to pay network usage fees to Korean companies, saying they could be "anticompetitive."

The USTR raised the issue in the 2024 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, which was released on Friday.

The report said that since 2021, a number of bills have been introduced in the National Assembly that would require foreign content providers to pay network usage fees to Korean internet service providers(ISPs).

It claimed that because some Korean ISPs are also themselves content providers, fees paid by U.S. content providers could benefit their Korean competitors.

The report added that such a mandate could be anticompetitive by further strengthening Korea's ISP oligopoly of three major providers to the detriment of the content industry. The mention of the three providers apparently refers to SK Broadband, KT and LG Uplus. 

Regarding other trade matters, the report said that several U.S. market access requests remain pending with South Korea’s agriculture ministry and Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency.

The report said the requests include expanded access for blueberries, improvement in the cherry import program, and access for apples, pears, Texas grapefruit, and California stone fruits.