Ministry of Industry: "Will Pursue Review and Improvement Talks with US Government on Steel and Aluminum Section 232 Measures"

US-EU Announce Agreement to Ease Section 232 Measures
Review of Impact on Korean Exports and Response Strategies

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The government announced on the 1st that it will seek to promptly initiate discussions with the U.S. government to review and improve measures under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act concerning domestically produced steel and aluminum.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held an urgent joint public-private countermeasure meeting chaired by Joo Young-jun, Director General of Industrial Policy, with the steel and aluminum industries to discuss the impact on our exports and future response plans.

U.S. President Joe Biden and European Union (EU) Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced an agreement during the G20 summit to ease import tariffs on steel and aluminum under Section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act and the EU’s retaliatory tariffs.

Regarding this, Director General Joo emphasized, "If exports of EU steel to the U.S. increase due to this U.S.-EU agreement, some impact on our exports is inevitable," adding, "We plan to make every effort to minimize negative effects."

As Korea is a supply chain partner providing high-quality products to the U.S. and a close economic and security core ally through agreements such as the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the government stated it will pursue prompt discussions with the U.S. government to review and improve Section 232 measures on domestically produced steel and aluminum.

In this regard, the government plans to dispatch a director-level official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to Washington D.C. to hold meetings with the U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of Commerce. Utilizing high-level Korea-U.S. consultation opportunities within this year, the government intends to continuously request the review and improvement of Section 232. Additionally, efforts will be made to ensure that Korea’s position is consistently communicated through various channels.

Alongside this, the government plans to actively respond to other countries’ import restrictions such as safeguards on Korean steel. The domestic industry will also conduct proactive outreach with local demand companies and investors to convey the necessity of easing and improving Section 232 measures on Korean steel products. Especially considering the shortage of steel supply and sharp price increases in the U.S., the government plans to strongly emphasize that easing import restrictions on Korea can contribute to the U.S. economic recovery and job creation.

Finally, by closely monitoring developments in the global agreement negotiations between the U.S. and the EU, the government will respond to anticipated changes in the export environment by accelerating the structural improvement of Korea’s steel industry through joint public-private efforts focusing on decarbonization and high value-added production, while strengthening responses to expanding global environmental regulations.

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