The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on June 25 that the UK government will implement a new steel import management system for 20 steel products starting July 1, aimed at protecting its domestic steel industry.
This new steel measure will replace the existing global safeguard (emergency import restriction) that ends on June 30, and is considered to be significantly more stringent. The number of regulated items has increased from 16 to 20, while the total tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for tariff-free imports has been nearly halved from 6.35 million tons to 3.22 million tons. Notably, the tariff rate on quantities exceeding the quota will double from 25% to 50%.
For South Korean steel, a total quota of 173,000 tons has been allocated across nine products. While this appears to increase the number of products and allocated amounts compared to the previous safeguard system (four products, 93,000 tons), the drastic reduction in the UK's overall tariff-free quota and the soaring excess tariffs raise concerns about the impact on South Korea's steel exports.
The South Korean government has consistently expressed concerns over the unilateral introduction of the UK's new steel measures. It has emphasized that South Korean steel has contributed to the stability of the UK's manufacturing and supply chains, and that the existing export performance of South Korean companies should be adequately reflected. Over the past three years (2022-2024), South Korea's steel exports to the UK have averaged 321,000 tons annually, accounting for about 1.2% of the country's total steel exports.
The Ministry is closely monitoring the potential impact of the UK's new measures on the domestic steel industry. Additionally, to alleviate the tariff burden on South Korean companies and resolve export uncertainties, it plans to activate all government-to-government consultation channels, including compensation discussions under Article 28 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
* This article has been translated by AI.
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