Office of Rep. Park Young-soon, KOTRA Data Analysis
US Regulations 31 Cases in 2017 → 47 Cases This Year
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Ye-ju] The number of import restrictions applied to Korean products has been increasing every year.
According to data submitted by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) to the office of Park Young-soon, a member of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, import restrictions on South Korea increased from 187 cases in 2017 to ▲194 cases in 2018 ▲210 cases in 2019 ▲229 cases in 2020 ▲210 cases in 2021, showing an upward trend.
As of the first half of this year, a total of 27 countries have applied 208 import restrictions. Among them, the country applying the most import restrictions on South Korea is the United States, recording 47 cases in the first half of this year. The import restrictions imposed by the United States on South Korea account for about one-quarter of the total. The U.S. import restrictions on South Korea have steadily increased from 31 cases in 2017 to ▲38 cases in 2018 ▲40 cases in 2019 ▲46 cases in 2020 ▲47 cases in 2021.
Next were ▲T?rkiye (19 cases) ▲India (16 cases) ▲China (14 cases) ▲Canada (14 cases) ▲Thailand (8 cases). T?rkiye increased from 15 cases in 2017 to 19 cases this year, and Canada increased from 10 cases to 14 cases.
China increased from 14 cases in 2017 to 17 cases in 2019 but decreased back to 14 cases last year, while India decreased from 28 cases in 2017 to 16 cases this year.
By product category, steel and metals accounted for about half with 100 cases, chemical products had 41 cases, plastics and rubber 23 cases, and textiles and clothing 15 cases. In particular, import restrictions on steel and metals recorded 104 cases last year, about 20 cases more than in 2017 (85 cases). Restrictions on plastic and rubber products increased from 20 cases last year to 23 cases in the first half of this year.
By type of import restriction measures, anti-dumping accounted for 150 cases, or 72%, with countervailing duties at 10 cases and safeguards at 36 cases.
Assemblyman Park Young-soon said, "As protectionism expands globally, import restrictions on Korean products are increasing," adding, "Since South Korea is an export-oriented country, it is necessary for the government to actively prepare measures to minimize damage to companies."
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