Ministry of SMEs and Startups Discusses Responses to High Tariffs and CBAM with Steel Industry SMEs

Roundtable Held with Steel-Exporting SMEs
Discussion on High Tariffs, CBAM, and Global Oversupply
Government Pledges Comprehensive Support Measures

The government gathered small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the steel industry, which continue to face U.S. tariff burdens, to listen to their concerns. The government announced plans to review comprehensive measures to ease factors that are increasing the industry's burden, such as high tariffs and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

On November 10, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it held a roundtable discussion at the conference room of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency in Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, bringing together steel-exporting SMEs and related associations and organizations.

At this meeting, SMEs that directly or indirectly export steel products (including derivatives) to the United States and the European Union, as well as the Korea Federation of SMEs and the Korea Iron and Steel Association, gathered to share the latest trends and challenges facing the steel industry.

In particular, the discussion focused on major issues faced by steel SMEs, including: the continued tariffs on steel, aluminum, and derivative products; the European Commission's announcement of new steel trade restriction measures; the full implementation of CBAM starting next year; and the impact on SMEs of changes in the steel ecosystem due to global steel oversupply.

To support the industry's recovery, the government pledged to: identify new initiatives to respond to tariffs and CBAM and to diversify export markets; enhance corporate competitiveness through artificial intelligence (AI) and R&D; support business transformation to adapt to changes in the domestic ecosystem; and provide liquidity to help overcome management challenges.

Policy Director Park stated, "As global protectionism in the steel sector expands and market uncertainty increases, concerns among the many SMEs in the domestic steel ecosystem are also growing. We will continue to communicate with SMEs on the ground and review comprehensive support measures to help them overcome the current challenges."

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