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In response to the European Union's recent significant tightening of steel tariffs, the South Korean government plans to announce a comprehensive policy package in late October. The core of this package will be strengthening incentive measures and anti-dumping mechanisms to protect domestic steel companies. A709 Grade 690 steel sheet, The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held an emergency meeting last Friday to discuss countermeasures against the EU's recent decision to drastically reduce tariff-free quotas for steel products and increase the tariff rate on quantities exceeding the quota from 25% to 50%. The meeting was chaired by Vice Minister of Trade Park Joon-won and included representatives from major industry players to formulate a coordinated policy response. This inter-departmental initiative, called the "Advanced Strategy for the Steel Industry," is expected to be officially launched later this month. The strategy will outline targeted measures to address global oversupply issues, strengthen protection against unfair imports through anti-dumping mechanisms, and introduce low-carbon standards and corresponding incentive mechanisms.
Given the EU's clear commitment to considering free trade agreement partners when allocating quotas, Seoul plans to use both formal and informal diplomatic channels to minimize the negative impact of the new regulations on domestic producers. A709 Grade 690 steel sheet, South Korea will actively explore available mechanisms under the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement framework to ensure that its interests are fully reflected. The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated in a statement last Friday that the risk of a surge in transshipped steel products targeting markets with relatively weak trade defenses is increasing as more countries tighten export controls. There is an urgent need for swift and coordinated trade action to stem the influx of unfairly traded steel products. The European Commission officially announced a new steel tariff rate quota (TRQ) proposal on October 7th. Under this proposal, the annual duty-free import quota will be drastically reduced by 47%, from 30.53 million tons to 18.3 million tons. Steel imports exceeding this quota will face a tariff increase from the current 25% to 50%.
This proposed TRQ (Tariff Rate Quota) scheme is expected to be put to a vote by EU member states (following standard EU legislative procedures) with the aim of being adopted before the current safeguard measures expire at the end of June next year. A709 Grade 690 steel sheet, For the South Korean steel industry, which is already facing a 50% tariff from the US, the new EU measures are expected to impact its steel exports to the EU starting next year. The EU is currently the second-largest export market for South Korean steel. According to data from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), in 2024, South Korea exported $4.48 billion worth of steel products to the European Union, which is roughly equivalent to its exports to its largest destination, the United States ($4.35 billion).
