Government Applies 0% Tariff Allocation on Three Types of Semiconductor Process Rare Gases

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] The government will apply a 0% tariff quota from April on neon, xenon, and krypton, which have a high import dependency on Russia and Ukraine. The quota for barley, a substitute for corn feed, will be increased to 250,000 tons.

Additionally, the government is considering designating the taxi transportation industry, which is struggling due to COVID-19, as a special employment support sector.

On the 17th, Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, held a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters for the Economy (Economic Central Disaster Headquarters) at the Government Complex Seoul and stated, "Since March, exports to Russia and Ukraine have decreased, and inflationary pressures have increased due to rising international oil prices, causing some shocks in the real economy."

From a supply chain management perspective, a 0% tariff rate will be applied to a certain amount of imports of rare gases used in semiconductor processes?neon, xenon, and krypton?instead of the existing 5.5% rate. The barley quota, initially planned to increase from 40,000 tons to 100,000 tons, will now be pushed up to 250,000 tons.

The government also plans to review and decide as quickly as possible on requests for tariff quota applications on perotitanium, aluminum strips, and automobile-related items (such as lead and copper).

Deputy Prime Minister Hong reaffirmed the policy to "immediately secure supply volumes, including importing crude oil produced overseas by the Korea National Oil Corporation, if concerns about energy supply disruptions escalate."

He added, "Regarding pollock, if supply disruptions occur in the future, we will steadily implement supply stabilization measures such as timely release of government stockpiles (11,595 tons)." Regarding corn, the government reported that it has secured substitute volumes for 322,000 tons out of the 391,000 tons of Ukrainian corn scheduled to be imported into the country.

Furthermore, when sending remittances to local Korean residents and students, the government encourages the use of accounts at local branches of Korean banks operating in Russia that are not subject to sanctions, and utilizes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' 'Rapid Overseas Remittance System for Diplomatic Missions.' This system allows remitters in Korea to deposit funds into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' account, which are then delivered to local recipients by the embassy in Russia.

The government currently supports 15 industries designated as special employment support sectors due to employment instability or business downturn caused by COVID-19, including shipbuilding, travel, tourism accommodation, tourism transportation, performance industries, aircraft handling, and film industries. Among these, 14 industries excluding shipbuilding will have their designation period end at the end of this month.

Deputy Prime Minister Hong said, "We will review whether to extend the designation for the 14 industries, such as travel and tourism, whose designation period expires at the end of this month among the previously designated 15 industries." He added, "We will also discuss whether to newly designate the taxi transportation industry, which is particularly struggling."

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