Indonesia and South Korea have reached a preliminary trade agreement on October 16, according to a joint statement by the Indonesia Ministry of Trade and the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. This agreement is expected to boost trade between two countries by about 50 percent by 2022.
Import duty on flat steel products in Indonesia range between 5 percent and 15 percent, while import duties against Chinese and Indian steel products go up to 20 percent. Now with the free trade agreement, Indonesian market will be open to South Korean products.
In 2018, Indonesia imported 11.6 million mt of steel, out of which 1.1 million mt was from Korea which was the third largest supplier of flat steel to Indonesia after China and Japan.