South Korea demands US abolition of steel tariffs

South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han Ku called for trade talks with the United States on steel tariffs at a press conference on Monday.

This comes after the US and the EU reached a new tariff agreement on steel exports last month, and last week the US agreed to revise steel tariffs with Japan. “Since South Korea is the rival of the EU and Japan in the US, I have strongly expressed the need for negotiations with the US on this issue,” said Yeo Han Ku.

South Korea's exclusion from these negotiations was due to Seoul's previous agreement with the Trump administration to restrict US exports to 70% of the average from 2015 to 2017. This ceiling allowed the export of Korean-made steel to avoid 25%. a rate set under Section 232 rules for other providers.

As for the timing of the talks, Ye said, “It's too early to judge; however, as the US Trade Representative (USTR) and the US Department of Commerce are involved in this issue simultaneously, we will do our best to get an early start by keeping in touch at the ministerial level. "