Tariffs Reduced on 60 Items Including Hydrogen Cars and Secondary Batteries

Ministry of Industry Announces 60 Items Subject to 2021 Tariff Quotas
Supports About 400 Billion Won Annually for Hydrogen Vehicles and Secondary Battery Materials

Large-capacity secondary battery using manganese. (Photo by Korea Electric Power Corporation) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 3rd that it has decided to apply tariff quotas on 60 items under its jurisdiction, including hydrogen vehicles and secondary batteries, starting from the 1st of this month.

The ministry explained that this decision was made to strengthen the competitiveness of new industries such as future vehicles, semiconductors, and bio, as well as key industries.

Tariff quotas temporarily apply lower tariff rates than the basic tariff rates for one year to enhance industrial competitiveness and stabilize domestic prices.

The items subject to tariff quotas under the ministry's jurisdiction now total 60, including 11 new items this year such as hydrogen vehicles and core materials for secondary batteries.

Natural gas (LNG) tariffs will only be applied during the six winter months (January to March, October to December) when heating demand increases.

First, 31 items aimed at fostering new industries such as hydrogen vehicles, secondary batteries, and new and renewable energy will have their tariff rates lowered to 0%.

Representative items include hydrogen vehicle stretchers, artificial graphite for secondary batteries, and semiconductor quartz glass substrates.

To strengthen the competitiveness of key industries such as automobiles, steel, textiles, and optics, tariff rates on 21 items will be reduced to between 0% and 4%.

In the chemical sector, tariff rates on four items including raw silicon metal for solar panels and XDA (raw materials for high value-added chemical materials such as high refractive optical lenses) will be lowered to 0%.

In the energy sector, the same tariff quotas as last year will be applied to crude oil (for naphtha and LPG production), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Tariff quotas of 0.5% (basic tariff rate 3%) will be applied to crude oil for naphtha production, 2% (basic 3%) to LPG and crude oil for LPG production, and 2% (basic 3%) to LNG, respectively.

For items without quantity limits, importers can submit a tariff quota application form through Uni-Pass (the Korea Customs Service online system) when declaring imports.

For items with import quantity restrictions, importers must obtain a recommendation letter from the recommending institution via online application and issuance, then attach both the tariff quota application form and the recommendation letter to the import declaration in Uni-Pass.

An official from the ministry stated, "This tariff quota support is expected to result in about 400 billion KRW worth of tariff support annually."

He added, "It is expected to alleviate the management burden on industries, foster new industries in materials, parts, and equipment, revitalize key industries, and accelerate the transition to a hydrogen economy."

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