KT&G Halts Tobacco Sales in the US... Local Subsidiary's Revenue Reaches 246.3 Billion KRW

[Asia Economy Reporter Junhyung Lee] KT&G announced on the 14th that it will temporarily suspend the manufacturing, shipment, and product sales to local wholesalers of combustible cigarettes sold in the United States.

The value of combustible cigarettes exported by KT&G to the U.S. last year was 205.7 billion KRW, accounting for 3.9% of last year's sales revenue (5.3016 trillion KRW). As part of follow-up measures, the company plans to temporarily halt local customs clearance and sales by its U.S. subsidiary. The U.S. subsidiary's sales last year were approximately 246.3 billion KRW. The date for resuming operations has not yet been determined.

Regarding the reason for the suspension, the company stated, "Regulations on combustible cigarettes are continuously tightening, including the menthol ban legislation in the U.S. and the FDA's push for stricter nicotine reduction regulations." It further explained, "Due to the U.S. Department of Commerce's anti-dumping investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice's comprehensive document submission order regarding compliance status of tobacco products sold domestically, and the long-term FDA equivalence review requiring submission of technical data, the regulatory response workload has increased."

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