[AP/Yonhap News Photo]
SEOUL, Mar. 02 (Aju News) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports next week, a move that could affect South Korean manufacturers.
Speaking at a meeting with business executives at the White House, Trump also said he plans to impose a 10 percent tariff on imports of aluminum and keep the two measures in place indefinitely.
"We'll be signing it in. And you will have protection for the first time in a long while, and you're going to regrow your industries," he said. "That's all I'm asking. You have to regrow your industries."
The move is mainly aimed at Chinese imports, but South Korea is also an exporter of steel to the U.S. According to the Korea Iron and Steel Association, the country shipped out 3.2 billion US dollars worth of steel products to the U.S. in 2017.
The Trump administration has aggressively pursued trade remedies in an effort to revive domestic industries. It recently slapped tariffs on imports of large residential washers and solar cell panels, targeting companies including South Korean electronics giants Samsung and LG.
"People have no idea how badly our country has been treated by other countries, by people representing us that didn't have a clue," Trump said. "Or if they did, then they should be ashamed of themselves because they've destroyed the steel industry, they've destroyed the aluminum industry, and other industries, frankly."
Trump's action follows investigations into the impact on national security from steel and aluminum imports. The Department of Commerce found that their quantities and circumstances "threaten to impair the national security."
On steel, the Commerce Department recommended three alternative remedies -- a global tariff of at least 24 percent on all steel imports from all countries, a tariff of at least 53 percent on all steel imports from 12 countries, including South Korea, with a quota on imports from all other countries, or a quota for all countries equal to 63 percent of their respective 2017 exports to the U.S.
(Yonhap)
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
