Minister Kim Jeong-kwan of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on the 6th that he plans to expand fiscal tax support for the domestic steel industry.
Minister Kim attended the full meeting of the Trade, Industry Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee at the National Assembly that day and noted, "The steel that has received a 50% tariff from the United States is a very painful area."
He expressed that he felt "a significant wall personally" regarding the exclusion of steel tariffs in the tariff negotiations with the United States and said he felt unfortunate about it.
He added, "During the tariff negotiation process, I wanted to discuss various measures from the perspective of our corporations, but unfortunately, they could not be reflected. The position of the United States in the steel sector is very strong, just like that of the automotive sector, so it could not be reflected."
Minister Kim stated, "There are issues regarding the protection of the domestic market from low-cost products coming from competitor countries, and fundamentally, there are issues related to transitioning to hydrogen reduction steelmaking or low-carbon, high-value-added industries." He added, "We plan to expand fiscal tax support related to this, and we will actively respond to low-cost products through the Trade Commission."
He continued, "There are difficulties for small and medium-sized enterprises in the steel industry, but we are trying to resolve them through policy funds," and he said, "I believe that the fundamental competitiveness of the industry and overwhelming technological strength are essential, and we will keep this in mind while implementing policies."