Seoul moves to shield steel industry amid EU's 50% tariff plan

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

61% : "As the EU has stated that it will consider its Free Trade Agreement partner countries when allocating quotas, Korea will aim to secure the highest possible share through bilateral negotiations." Under the Korea-EU FTA, which came into effect in 2011, Korean steel exports to the EU are generally tariff-free.
58% : The EU accounted for approximately 13 percent of Korea's total steel export value.
57% : "With about a year before the new measures take effect, Korea has the opportunity to leverage its negotiating power with the EU," said Kim Tae-hwang, an international trade professor at Myongji University.
56% : However, a significant effect is expected, as the EU is one of Korea's top two steel export markets," the Industry Ministry said.
56% : Since the EU implemented its safeguard measures in 2018, Korea has received country-specific quotas.
55% : According to the Korea International Trade Association, Korea exported $4.48 billion worth of steel to the EU in 2024, slightly surpassing the United States' $4.35 billion.
53% : Local media reports said that of Korea's 3.8 million tons of steel exports to the EU over the year through June, 2.63 million tons were shipped under Korea's tariff-free quota, while the rest fell under the EU's global quota, which applies regardless of origin.
48% : "Like EFTA members -- Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein -- who were exempted from certain measures despite not being EU members, Korea should utilize its FTA with the EU to secure favorable conditions through bilateral talks."
44% : The EU's move is likely to further strain Korean steelmakers, who are grappling with rising protectionism, tighter environmental regulations and a steady influx of low-priced Chinese products.

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.