Our top story this afternoon..<br />U.S. President Donald Trump says he will sign off on steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports next week, hitting producers like South Korea and China.<br />The Dow Jones industrial average slumped after the announcement amid fears of a trade war.<br />Park Jong-hong reports.<br /> <br /> President Trump has made it clear that steel and aluminum exports to the U.S. will be subject to tariffs of 25 and 10 percent, respectively.<br />Trump is slated to sign an executive order next week making it official.<br />The plan was unveiled after a White House meeting with industry executives on Thursday.<br />President Trump added the move is aimed at propping up the U.S. industry and creating jobs for American workers.<br /><br /> "It'll be 25 percent for steel. It'll be 10 percent for aluminum. And it'll be for a long period of time. ... We'll be signing it in and you will have protection for the first time in a long while. And you've got to re-grow your industries."<br /><br />He also said U.S. companies had been 'decimated' and had been treated unfairly by other countries for decades.<br />Analysts say it's unclear whether the rates of 25 percent for steel and 10 percent for aluminum will be instituted across the board or have some exceptions.<br />Trade sources in Washington think the rates would not apply to Canada which hires a number of American workers.<br />In any case, if the rate turns out to be final, South Korea will be letting out a sigh of relief as the U.S. Commerce Department had initially suggested dropping a tariff bomb of more than 53 percent on 12 countries, including Korea.<br />Following Canada and Brazil, South Korea is the third largest exporter of steel to the U.S. with last year's export volume estimated at three-point-six-five million tons.<br /> Critics say Trump's measures will fail to boost jobs and even risk stoking a trade war with China.<br />Beijing has already threatened to curb U.S. imports of soybeans and the European Union says it will consider taking action as well.<br />Park Jong-hong, Arirang News. <br />
