Korea asks US for immediate talks on steel tariffs

Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo speaks during a press briefing at the ministry in the Sejong Government Complex, Monday. Courtesy of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Quota-marred competitive edge of local steelmakers top concern

By Lee Kyung-min

The government has officially asked the U.S. to start talks on steel tariffs, as recent developments on the matter involving the European Union (EU) and Japan could hurt Korean steel companies' business interests in the world's largest economy, the country's top trade negotiator said Monday.

"I have strongly raised the necessity of tariff negotiations with the U.S. over the EU and Japan, two major competitors of Korea in the global market," the country's top trade negotiator, Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, said during a press briefing at the ministry in the Sejong Government Complex.

Behind the rare statement was the U.S. and the EU recently reaching an agreement on Section 232 of national security tariffs the Trump administration placed on U.S. imports of steel, and Washington announcing ongoing talks on tariffs with Japan and the United Kingdom.

Korea is excluded from these negotiations due to its earlier agreement with the Trump administration on a quota limiting its steel exports to the U.S. to 70 percent of the average volume between 2015 and 2017.

The ceiling was once considered an advantage over the EU and Japan, both of which were subject to a high 25 percent tariff wihtout a cap on export volumes.

"My U.S. counterpart and I had an understanding that steel issues were highly important and sensitive to Korea. We agreed on the need to continue talks on the issue," Yeo said, noting this was an outcome of the sixth Korea-U.S. (KORUS) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Joint Committee Meeting.

The top trade negotiator reiterated that Korea cannot remain complacent over the timeline of renegotiations, given the U.S.'s speedy resumption of tariff talks with the EU and Japan, with which Korea is in a fierce competition on the global market.

The U.S. began negotiations with the EU and Japan first, because Korea has been exporting to the U.S. without tariffs for the past four years, whereas the EU and Japan have been subject to the 25 percent surcharge, the minister explained.

"The U.S. steel industry remains sensitive about the issue. But we have continued to ask for early negotiations to resolve the Section 232 issue, as backed by robust demand for high-quality Korean steel products in the U.S. with the soaring investment of Korean manufacturing companies there," he added.

The Trump administration's imposition of a 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent on aluminum was described at the time as a measure to safeguard national security that was coming under a heightened threat from imported goods. China was among the countries subject to the measure.

Some local observers say the U.S. is deliberately excluding China from the resumed tariff talks, thereby isolating the world's second-largest economy from the international community.

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