Strengthened Protectionism Due to COVID-19... Seven New Investigations into Import Restrictions on Korean Products

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] Although the global spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has made the need for international cooperation greater than ever, trade barriers have not decreased.

According to the Korea International Trade Association's Import Regulation Integrated Support Center on the 8th, as of the end of the first quarter, import regulations against Korea were recorded at 211 cases across 27 countries. The number of countries decreased by two compared to the end of last year, but the number of regulations remained the same.

By type, anti-dumping accounted for the largest number with 157 cases, followed by safeguard measures (emergency import restrictions) with 45 cases, and countervailing duties with 9 cases.

By country, the United States had the most with 43 cases, followed by India with 32 cases, China with 17 cases, Turkey with 15 cases, Canada with 13 cases, Indonesia with 11 cases, and Brazil with 10 cases.

By product category, steel and metals accounted for 98 cases, chemicals 43 cases, plastics and rubber 25 cases, textiles 13 cases, and electrical and electronics 8 cases.

From January to March this year, there were 7 newly initiated import regulation investigations on Korean products.

The United States newly initiated three anti-dumping investigations in the first quarter alone on Korean products such as grade 4 tobacco, general alloy aluminum plates, and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene.

The Philippines started a safeguard investigation on Korean passenger and commercial vehicles, while Pakistan (yellow chromium pigment), Malaysia (flat-rolled non-alloy iron), and Mexico (dioctyl phthalate) each initiated one anti-dumping investigation.

As COVID-19 rapidly spreads and the possibility of a global economic recession increases, voices from the industry and experts are calling for strengthening free trade and international cooperation to overcome the crisis.

The U.S. Congress and industry have requested the administration to suspend Section 301 tariffs on China and Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum to ease international tensions.

In a recent report titled "COVID-19 Variables and the Direction of U.S. Trade Policy" released by the Korea International Trade Association's Trade Support Center, it was forecasted that "President Trump will focus all efforts on maintaining the existing protectionist stance by highlighting China's security threat linked to COVID-19 and raising trade barriers."

The report added, "The Trump administration's top priority this year is to 'secure a foothold for re-election,' and to this end, it will devote great effort to promoting the achievements of its trade policies and measures over the past three years."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.