Guatemala Government Finds No Grounds for Safeguard Investigation on Korean Steel Products: "Uncertainty Resolved"

Closure Without Additional Measures
Continued Export to Guatemala, the Largest Market in Central America Expected

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Guatemalan government has terminated the emergency import restriction (safeguard) investigation on Korean steel products without any additional measures.

According to the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Guatemala on the 20th (local time), the Guatemalan Ministry of Economy announced through the official gazette that it would end the safeguard investigation on our steel products without any further action.

The Guatemalan Ministry of Economy stated, "As a result of the investigation, it was found that imports of Korean steel products did not cause serious damage to the domestic industry, and since the conditions specified in Article 19 of GATT 1994, the Safeguard Agreement, and the Central American implementing decree on safeguard measures were not met, the safeguard measures will not be implemented."

Accordingly, the uncertainty over steel exports to Guatemala, which our industry had been concerned about due to the initiation of Guatemala's safeguard investigation last August, has been resolved, and exports of our products to Guatemala, the largest market in the Central American region, are expected to continue.

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Guatemala has made every effort to ensure that the Guatemalan government does not block imports of our steel products through close cooperation with Korean companies, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, including high-level meetings with President Morales of Guatemala, Vice President-elect Castillo, Chairman Chinchia of the Korea-Guatemala Parliamentary Friendship Association, as well as collaboration with leading local economic organizations.

In particular, for this ruling, our side actively pointed out at the government level the defects in the investigation itself, such as lack of similarity and absence of serious damage, as well as the adverse effects on future cooperation between the two countries. At the public opinion level, through local economic representative organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Associations, statements and press releases supporting our position were published in local media, making active efforts to maintain the channel of economic cooperation between the two countries.

Ambassador Hong Seok-hwa of the Republic of Korea in Guatemala supported the participation of Korean companies such as Dongkuk Steel and Dongbu Steel in the public hearing, attended the hearing in person, directed the official position announcement and Q&A session of our public-private response team on site, and actively responded by publishing opinion pieces emphasizing the importance of free trade and the need to expand economic cooperation between the two countries in major local newspapers.

An official from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Guatemala stated, "In line with our government's response policy to create a trade environment favorable to our companies against the global trend of expanding protectionism, we will actively work to ensure market access for our companies' products in Guatemala as well as provide a smoother business environment for our companies (about 150 companies) operating in Guatemala."