South Korea's steel industry had been the target of almost 100 import restriction measures since 1991.<br />And amid the current climate of trade protectionism, Korean steel has been hit with six restrictive measures already this year.<br />Won Jung-hwan reports. <br /> <br /> South Korea's steel industry has long been the target of global trade protectionist measures.<br />Data released by the local steel industry and the Korea International Trade Association shows that since 1991, Korean steel products have been hit with 95 cases of anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties and import safeguards. <br /><br />Restrictions on steel imports accounted for nearly half of the import restrictions for all South Korean exports.<br /><br /> Those restrictions have come from 18 countries and from the EU trading bloc. But 28 of those 95 restrictions have come from the United States.<br /><br />And in this year alone,… the U.S., Canada, EU, and Turkey have placed six new restrictive measures on Korean steel products. <br /><br /> According to an expert from KITA,… trade protectionism in the steel sector is due to the difficulty countries have restructuring their domestic industry.<br />He also added that,… there is an excess supply from newly emerging steel producers like China which made heavy investments from the early 2000s up until the global financial crisis.<br /><br /> With the revision of the U.S.-South Korea trade deal in March,... South Korea's steel exports to the U.S. are restricted to a quota of about 2-point-68 million tonnes.<br />And the six restrictions placed on Korean steel by other countries this year add to concerns among Korea's steel producers. <br />Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News. <br />
