U.S. has no plan to negotiate import quota on S. Korean steel products: Raimondo

By Byun Duk-kun

WASHINGTON, March 23 (Yonhap) -- The United States has no immediate plan to negotiate its import quota on South Korean steel products, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Wednesday, according to a report by Reuters.

The remarks come after U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai argued South Korea is already in a better position than many others in terms of steel and aluminium exports to the U.S.

"They kind of struck their own deal in the last administration, with a quota arrangement, so renegotiating that is not a high priority for us now," Raimondo was quoted as saying.

The former Donald Trump administration imposed Section 232 tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports in 2018.

Seoul, however, had chosen an import quota, which allowed the country to ship 70 percent of its three-year average free of duty.

South Korean officials, including Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, have been calling for a renegotiation of the 2018 quota since the Joe Biden administration removed Section 232 tariffs on steel imports from Japan and European Union countries earlier this year.

The U.S. on Tuesday removed tariffs on British steel products.

Tai earlier expressed pessimism at changing the U.S. import quota on South Korean steel products.

"I'll just tell you this is something that we have been talking about, which is Korea's interest in looking at the parameters for our steel and aluminum trade," she has said.

"But I will also just emphasize that in terms of accommodations from the steel and aluminum import tariff actions, Korea was actually one of the first if not the first ... to secure an accommodation from the tariffs."

bdk@yna.co.kr
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