Republicans Claim South Korea’s Tech Rules Give Edge to Chinese Firms

A coalition of over 40 Republican lawmakers is raising alarms over new South Korean legislation known as the Platform Competition Promotion Act (PCPA) warning it is styled after the EU’s Digital Markets Act and could deliberately target U.S. tech giants while shielding Chinese competitors.

Here’s what conservatives in Congress are saying:

• The PCPA would impose heavy-handed regulations on U.S. firms like Google, Apple, Meta, and Coupang.

• Chinese platforms such as ByteDance, Alibaba, and Temu would escape similar scrutiny under the proposed bill.

• This asymmetry, Republicans argue, would effectively give Chinese companies a competitive advantage.

The letter, led by Rep. Adrian Smith (R‑NE) and Rep. Carol Miller (R‑WV), is addressed to key Trump administration officials including U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

While the lawmakers support trade talks aimed at avoiding reinstated tariffs, they are demanding that the U.S. push back on Seoul’s proposed platform regulations.

“Allowing these companies to operate free from the regulatory burdens imposed on their U.S. competitors would substantially increase threats related to data security, disinformation, economic coercion, and espionage stemming from the CCP’s influence,” the letter states.

Republicans argue that the PCPA threatens national security by creating a digital gap that Chinese tech platforms could exploit to harvest data and spread propaganda without being bound by the same rules as their American counterparts.

South Korea is seeking a tariff extension before the current pause expires July 8, and White House sources say President Trump will weigh whether to grant it. In the meantime, lawmakers want the U.S. Trade Representative to hold the PCPA hostage in negotiations or reject it outright.

This conflict reflects wider fears in Washington: that U.S. allies are, intentionally or unintentionally, aligning regulatory burdens to favor China not America.

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