Rising Protectionist Trade Barriers After COVID-19... 5 Increase in South Korea's Import Restrictions in Q1

Earlier This Month, 212 Cases of Korean Import Regulations Across 26 Countries

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] In the first quarter of this year, five additional import restrictions were imposed on South Korea, bringing the total to over 200 cases. The rise of nationalism and protectionism, which spread after COVID-19, has not subsided.

According to the Korea International Trade Association on the 25th, as of early this month, there were a total of 212 import restrictions from 26 countries against South Korea. Compared to a year ago, the number of countries decreased by one, while the number of restrictions increased by one.

By type, anti-dumping measures were the most common with 159 cases, followed by safeguard measures with 43 cases, and countervailing duties with 10 cases. By country, the United States had the most with 44 cases, followed by India with 27, China 16, Turkey 16, Canada 13, Indonesia 10, Thailand 8, Australia 8, and Brazil 7. By product category, steel and metals accounted for 103 cases, chemicals 45, plastics and rubber 24, textiles 14, electrical and electronics 6, and machinery 2.

Comparing the import restriction status by country to a year ago, Australia increased by 3 cases, and the United States, Turkey, and Thailand each increased by 1 case. Other countries added 6 cases. By product category, steel and metals increased by 5 cases, chemicals by 2, and textiles by 1, while electrical and electronics decreased by 2, plastics and rubber by 1, and machinery by 1. Other products increased by 3 cases.

In the first quarter of this year, a total of 5 new import restrictions were initiated against Korean products. This is 2 fewer than the 7 cases in the first quarter of last year. Looking at the new import restrictions, Turkey and the European Union (EU) started anti-dumping investigations on hot-rolled steel sheets and high-performance resins. Pakistan initiated an anti-dumping investigation on cold-rolled coils and steel sheets, and the Philippines began a safeguard investigation on zinc and zinc-aluminum color-coated steel sheets (PPGI·PPGL).

There were 3 cases where investigations were ongoing but were confirmed to apply restrictions. India (polybutadiene rubber), Indonesia (carpets and floor mats), and the Philippines (cement) all started safeguard restrictions in the first quarter.

There were 24 cases where restrictions were lifted. These included Indonesia’s non-alloy flat steel sheets (safeguard), South Africa’s steel (safeguard), the United States’ grade 4 tobacco and aluminum sheets (anti-dumping), India’s cold-rolled steel sheets and stainless steel sheets (anti-dumping), and China’s adipic acid (anti-dumping).

The number of import restrictions against South Korea has rarely decreased since it first exceeded 200 cases in June 2017. This is due to the spread of protectionism from developed countries to emerging markets.

In the first quarter, trade technical barriers (TBT) worldwide also increased significantly, reaching a record high. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), 1,023 TBT notifications were made by 64 countries in the first quarter. This is a 7% increase compared to 955 cases in the same period last year, marking the highest number of quarterly notifications ever recorded.

As competition among countries to gain dominance in the post-COVID-19 trade environment intensifies, trade barriers are expected to rise further in the future.

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