According to South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), last week the country held bilateral talks with both the EU and the US on their trading relations.
Accordingly, South Korean and European representatives reviewed the status of mutual import restrictions, shared trends in trade relief-related laws and systems, and exchanged opinions on trade relief policies of major trading partners. South Korea stated that the safeguard measures, including 25 percent duty, against the country’s steel product exports to the EU have negatively affected bilateral trade. Due to the war in Ukraine, steel supply in the EU region faces serious shortages and is threatening investment and production schedules of home appliance, automotive and other downstream industries. In light of these risks, the South Korean representative requested the reconsideration of the steel safeguard and the enlargement of quotas for key items.
In the talks with the US, the South Korean representative emphasized that the US Section 232 steel tariffs should be flexible to stabilize steel supply for both US buyers and local South Korean investors.