South Korea Urgently Discusses Countermeasures to U.S. Tariff Hikes on Steel and Aluminum

On June 2, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea (ROK) convened an emergency meeting with representatives from the steel and aluminum industries to discuss responses to the US doubling of tariffs on steel and aluminum.

According to Yonhap News Agency, industry representatives from POSCO, Hyundai Steel, KG Steel, the Korea Non-Ferrous Metals Association, Novelis Korea, and Lotte Aluminum attended the meeting.The meeting focused on discussing the impact of the US's tariff increase on steel and aluminum on relevant industries in the ROK and subsequent response plans.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of the ROK stated that it would closely monitor the implementation of the US tariff measures and actively respond within the existing framework of consultations with the US, striving to minimize the impact on domestic industries in the ROK.

The US has imposed a 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminum since March 12. On May 30, US President Trump said that the tariffs on steel and aluminum would be raised to 50% starting from June 4.

The US is one of the major export markets for ROK steel. According to data from the Korea International Trade Association, steel products exported to the US accounted for 13.1% of the ROK's total steel exports in 2024.