U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to increase tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum products from the current 25% to 50%, prompting the government to hold an emergency review meeting and begin its response.
On the 30th of last month, President Trump indicated through a speech at U.S. Steel in Pennsylvania and on social media that he intends to raise tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum products from the current 25% to 50% starting on the 4th.
In response, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held an emergency review meeting with the steel and non-ferrous metal industries at the Korea Iron and Steel Association in Seoul on the morning of the 2nd. The meeting was chaired by Na Seong-hwa, director of industrial supply chain policy, and was attended by trade executives from major corporations such as POSCO, Hyundai Steel, and Novelis Korea.
Participants discussed the impact of the tariff increase on the industry and future response measures during the meeting. The domestic steel industry anticipates difficulties in passing additional tariffs on to local selling prices. In March, when the 25% tariff on steel products was implemented, hot-rolled product and oil country tubular goods (OCTG) prices had increased by 46.6% and 33.3%, respectively, compared to the beginning of the year. Additionally, concerns about an economic downturn are intensifying, raising questions about the support for local steel demand.
The government is working to gather more specific information by activating all external networks, including diplomatic missions in the U.S. and local corporations. The industry has requested prompt information sharing from the government and agreed to cooperate in joint responses through public-private partnerships to understand local situations via their own networks.
The government plans to actively respond to minimize the impact on our industry during the ongoing negotiations with the U.S., while closely monitoring trends in the implementation of future measures.