Trump's Second Term to Establish Rapid Support System for SME Exports

Announcement of the "2025 Export Support Plan for SMEs and Venture Businesses" by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups

Recently, due to factors such as the high exchange rate and tariff measures under the second term of Trump, export support policies for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are being supplemented. The main focus is on establishing and operating a support system that can quickly respond to rapidly changing export issues.

On the 18th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced the "2025 SME and Venture Business Export Support Plan," which includes these measures, at the 6th Export Strategy Meeting. First, to establish a rapid response support system, the Ministry plans to set up 'Complaint Centers' at 15 export support centers nationwide. These Complaint Centers will support damage reporting and consultations, and to mitigate export damage caused by U.S. tariff measures, they will simplify the policy fund evaluation process to quickly support SMEs pursuing export diversification. Additionally, the Ministry will further review measures such as providing emergency management stabilization funds and raising the limit on logistics cost support through export vouchers in case SMEs face management crises.

Oh Young-joo, Minister of SMEs and Startups

To respond to the global supply chain restructuring, 60 billion KRW in policy funds will also be supplied to overseas subsidiaries. The operation plan for overseas subsidiary policy funds will be announced next month, and pilot support will be provided to overseas subsidiaries in certain countries, including the United States, where the Global Business Center (GBC) and Korea Startup Center (KSC) are located. In Silicon Valley, an 'Integrated Overseas Expansion Support Hub' will be piloted, integrating the functions of the GBC, KSC, and Korea Venture Investment Corporation (KVIC) overseas offices. This hub will provide comprehensive support from initial entry spaces to management services, including legal and management support, startup incubation, and local investment attraction assistance.

The Ministry will also newly operate programs such as expert close consulting and mentoring support from senior export companies for 1,000 promising beginner exporters with export amounts under 1 million USD this year. A 'Tech Service Exclusive Export Voucher' worth 14 billion KRW will also be newly established to support tech service-specialized areas not covered by existing export vouchers, such as overseas cloud usage costs.

Furthermore, to accelerate cosmetics exports even under the Trump second term situation, a 'K-Beauty Loan' of 20 billion KRW will be newly established to support cosmetics production funds. An international K-Beauty expo will be held with buyers including major overseas cosmetics distributors from France, Germany, Japan, and others to enhance the status of K-Beauty and actively support export market diversification. The Ministry has selected 'Clothing and Accessories,' 'Fashion Accessories (such as jewelry),' and 'Stationery and Toys' as three new Hallyu product categories with high SME export shares and growth potential based on the Korean Wave, and plans to newly operate specialized programs such as support for entry into local global distribution networks.

The Ministry will also advance the existing networks and cooperation bases, such as the SME and Venture Business Globalization One-Team Council. To strengthen the cooperation base of the 'SME and Venture Business Support Council' established at 25 regional overseas diplomatic missions in 17 countries, a direct support program for overseas diplomatic missions will be newly introduced. A 'Global Navigator' will also be newly established to systematically provide overseas information discovered by the One-Team Council.

Oh Young-joo, Minister of SMEs and Startups, said, "This measure focuses on quickly responding to SME export issues such as the high exchange rate and the second term of Trump, and establishing a solid SME export structure that will not be shaken by future external environmental changes. Since all our export SMEs are inevitably affected when the U.S. tariff measures are implemented, we will operate Complaint Centers nationwide where SMEs facing difficulties can immediately receive consultations when needed, and swiftly alleviate SME difficulties through emergency management stabilization funds and support for export market diversification."

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