Brussels: Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo has conveyed Seoul's concerns over the European Union (EU)'s tougher steel safeguard plan and Mexico's tariff hike during his visit to the regions, the ministry said Thursday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, during a meeting with Maros Sefcovic, the EU's commissioner for trade and economic security, at the EU headquarters in Belgium on Monday (local time), Yeo addressed "deep" concerns over the EU's plan to implement stronger steel safeguard measures. The EU plans to raise tariffs on 30 steel items and reduce tariff-free quotas on foreign steel imports starting in July.
Yeo called for a "prudent" approach to the issue, stressing that the EU is the second-largest importer of South Korean steel, and that such measures could directly affect supply chains and Korean companies in industries such as automobiles and home appliances. The ministry said Yeo and Sefcovic agreed to continue discussions to find a "mutually beneficial" solution to the issue, recognizing that steel is a strategic industry both for Korea and the EU.
From Tuesday to Wednesday, Yeo visited Mexico and met with Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard to expand Seoul's outreach for the resumption of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with the Latin American nation. Recently, the Mexican government raised tariffs on imports of automobiles, auto parts, textiles, steel and other goods from countries that do not have an FTA with Mexico.
Yeo pointed out that Korean companies have faced growing uncertainties due to a planned review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Under the USMCA, they use Mexico as a key production base, importing intermediate goods to produce finished goods for export across North America. Amid such changes, Yeo and Ebrard agreed to launch a new ministerial-level strategic dialogue aimed at facilitating trade talks between the two countries, the ministry said. Yeo also met with Mexico's presidential chief of staff Lazaro Cardenas and lawmakers to ask for their support for resumption of bilateral FTA negotiations, it added.