South Korea is bracing for potential market disruptions after U.S. President Donald Trump moved forward with imposing 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from around the world. Acting President Choi Sang-mok has called on top policymakers to closely monitor the situation and prepare for the ripple effects of these tariffs, particularly on South Korea’s vital steel sector.
While the tariffs officially took effect on Wednesday, South Korea, a major producer of metals in Asia, refrained from immediate retaliatory measures. Instead, the South Korean government dispatched its trade minister to Washington in a bid to accelerate negotiations with the Trump administration over the tariffs.
“Choi emphasized the importance of swift negotiations with the U.S. and directed officials to prevent a surge of steel products, which could no longer be exported to the U.S. or other countries, from disrupting the domestic market,” according to a statement from his office on Thursday.
The tariffs mark the latest in a series of trade measures introduced by Trump during his presidency, extending beyond previous exemptions and impacting a broader range of goods. The tariffs exacerbate concerns about global steel oversupply, potentially putting additional pressure on producers already struggling with weak demand for steel.
In response, South Korea’s Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun called an emergency meeting with business leaders shortly after the tariffs were enacted. During the meeting, the government discussed plans to strengthen its response to the U.S. tariffs and safeguard the steel trade.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it would introduce countermeasures, including increased monitoring of imports and efforts to prevent tariff circumvention. “We will do our utmost to protect our industries by bolstering our response system ahead of the reciprocal tariffs expected in early April,” Ahn said. He also encouraged businesses to maintain real-time communication with the government regarding their discussions with U.S. stakeholders.
Trump’s decision to impose the tariffs comes after he criticized South Korea for having higher tariffs on U.S. products than China, particularly targeting the subsidies supporting major South Korean companies like Samsung Electronics. However, South Korea has rejected these claims, pointing out that its effective tariff rate on U.S. imports was just 0.79% last year, thanks to a free trade agreement that went into effect in 2012.
South Korea’s trade minister is scheduled to meet with U.S. counterparts this week to discuss the tariffs and other trade-related issues. As the fourth-largest economy in Asia, South Korea is heavily reliant on international trade, with its largest corporations generating most of their revenue from global markets.
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