Korea's steel industry asked the government to exempt 17 types of steel sub-raw materials from import tariffs. The reason is that, unlike competitors such as China and Japan, which apply tariffs close to zero on imports of steel sub-raw materials, Korea imposes high tariffs, putting domestic firms at a cost disadvantage.
According to materials submitted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to the office of Rep. Park Ji-hye of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the Trade. Industry Energy. SMEs. and Startups Committee, on the 15th, the Korea Iron & Steel Association requested a tariff exemption for 17 steel sub-raw material items 4th.
Steel sub-raw materials are materials used to impart quality or properties to steel products. The items for which the association requested zero tariff are ferroniobium, high-carbon ferrochrome, low-carbon ferrochrome, ferronickel, nickel ingot, and ferrotitanium.
These sub-raw materials are used to produce a range of products, including hot-rolled, stainless (STS) cold-rolled, heavy plate, and ferromanganese. The government applies a 2%–8% rate to these sub-raw materials, but the steel industry is asking for an exemption to ease the burden because downstream products that use these materials are affected by U.S. steel tariffs.
A steel industry official said, "The request to exempt import tariffs on steel sub-raw materials is an issue we have been raising continuously," and noted, "In competitor countries, relatively low tariffs are applied compared with Korea, and downstream products are entering the domestic market tariff-free, so tariff exemptions are needed to protect the domestic industry."
Rep. Park said, "The domestic steel industry is suffering a triple whammy of Chinese low-price offensives, tariff barriers, and domestic reverse discrimination," and said, "As a matter of protecting a key industry, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy must, with a responsible stance, push through measures to strengthen the steel industry's competitiveness, including reducing the tariff burden."