Seoul, March 13
Seoul will come up with a response strategy before the end of this month to deal with the United States' 25 per cent tariff on all steel imports and protect the Korean steel industry, the industry minister said on Thursday.

Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun offered the timeline at a meeting with officials from major steelmakers, including POSCO Group and Hyundai Steel Co., saying the government will "sternly respond to any attempts of unfair trade activities."

"The government is working to bolster trade safeguard measures, including strengthening monitoring on imported goods and circumvention dumping on unfairly imported products," he said, reports Yonhap news agency.

The Donald Trump administration imposed 25 percent duties on all steel imports, including those from South Korea, starting Wednesday.

The Trump administration also levied tariffs on 87 steel and aluminum derivative products, and lifted duty-free quotas for steel imports from South Korea and other countries.

In 2018, the first Trump administration had waived tariffs on South Korean steel products in exchange for a yearly import quota of 2.63 million tons, which accounted for around 70 percent of Korea's average export volume between 2015 and 2017.

In the meeting, Ahn told the steel companies the government will work to enhance support measures for the industry and put in all-out efforts to negotiate with the U.S. on the matter.

"I ask the companies to consider heightened uncertainties as a constant variable and proactively review investment and export strategies focused on high-value products," Ahn said.

Meanwhile, recent deregulatory moves in the property market and easing of banks' lending rules could stoke household debts, making it necessary for authorities to consider additional measures to ensure financial stability, the central bank said on Thursday.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) made the suggestion in its latest biannual monetary policy report, as government data showed household loans extended by banks rose for the first time in three months in February.

"Uncertainties remain high regarding the trend of household debts given the current housing market situation and other factors," the report read.

S. Korea to devise response measures to US tariffs on steel this month