"Expanded Consultation Channels and Funding"... Ministry of SMEs and Startups to Provide Additional Support for Companies Affected by U.S. Tariffs

Additional Measures Announced at Economic Ministers' Meeting
Introduction of One-on-One Dedicated Manager System and Operation of One-Stop Support Headquarters
Additional 400 Billion Won in Emergency Funds Injected

The government has introduced additional measures to support companies affected by U.S. tariffs. The plan is to make every effort to ease management difficulties by expanding consultation channels for tariff-related damages across the board and providing additional emergency funds.

On May 14, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced at an economic ministers’ meeting the "Additional Support Measures for SMEs Responding to U.S. Tariffs." In the first quarter of this year, SME export performance reached $27 billion, marking the second-highest first-quarter result on record. In contrast, exports to the U.S. of steel and aluminum, which are subject to a 25% tariff, decreased by 17.8% and 7.6%, respectively.

In response, the Ministry has prepared additional support measures to minimize the damage to domestic SMEs and to boost export momentum. First, the Ministry plans to strengthen the consulting function of the "SME Export Difficulty Reporting Center." A "one-on-one dedicated manager system" will be introduced for companies affected by tariffs, providing close management by guiding and connecting them to government support programs. In addition, the 15 SME Export Difficulty Reporting Centers nationwide and the six main and regional customs offices of the Korea Customs Service will be linked via a hotline to provide more in-depth information related to tariffs.

Next, the existing "One-Stop Export and Order Support Team" will be reinforced in both organization and function, and will operate as the "One-Stop Tariff Response Support Headquarters," which will oversee the receipt and handling of tariff-related difficulties. Tariff-related issues received by various agencies, such as Tariff Response 119 and the Export Difficulty Reporting Center, will be integrated and their handling will be reviewed weekly to enable a swift, government-wide response. Government support policies and major trade information from key countries will be posted on the official website, and on-site communication will be strengthened through "visiting business consultations and briefings."

Additional emergency funds will be supplied to help provide liquidity to affected companies. To support management difficulties, an additional 400 billion won in emergency funds (300 billion won for emergency management stabilization and 100 billion won for trade risk response) will be provided, and a new "Crisis Overcoming Special Guarantee" program with a scale of 4.2 trillion won will be established and operated. Furthermore, the export voucher program, which supports both tariff-related services and existing overseas marketing services (in 14 fields and over 8,000 services), will be expanded by 174.5 billion won. The government also plans to increase discounts on logistics costs for exports to the U.S. by collaborating with major logistics companies such as Hanjin.

Support for diversifying export markets will also be expanded. The Ministry will provide an additional 100 billion won in new market entry funds (increasing from the original 382.5 billion won to 482.5 billion won after the supplementary budget), and support for participation in overseas exhibitions will be expanded, focusing on key items heavily affected by U.S. tariff measures. Delegations will be dispatched to startup strategic markets such as the UAE (Dubai), Japan (Osaka), and Germany (Berlin), and market entry roadmaps will be developed for each country to further promote diversification of export markets for startups.

Tariff response policy hubs and support systems will also be strengthened. The "Joint Conference of SME Export Support Agencies" will be held, where SME export support organizations will review export policies in response to U.S. tariffs and discuss necessary improvements. To reinforce responses to trade risks, the operation systems of the Global Business Centers in the U.S. (New York) and China (Shanghai) will be upgraded to strengthen their function as policy hubs. In addition, monitoring will be strengthened to eradicate unfair trade practices such as passing on the burden of reduced export prices due to tariffs to lower-tier suppliers. Consulting and promotion for the introduction of a supply price indexing system will also be expanded so that fluctuations in raw material prices can be shared.

Minister Oh Youngju of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups stated, "These measures are additional support plans based on a survey of the actual impact of U.S. tariffs on SME exports," and added, "We will spare no policy support to minimize the damage to our SMEs and, furthermore, to create new opportunities in the global market."

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