정부 "미중 무역갈등 실물영향 제한적…필요시 시장안정조치"<br /><br />And eyes are also on how the renewed Washington-Beijing trade war would affect the South Korean economy.<br />Ko Roon-hee reports. <br />The trade war between the world's biggest economies has escalated after the U.S. more than doubled tariffs on 200-billion U.S. dollars worth of Chinese imports last Friday after talks in Washington failed to produce a breakthrough. <br />To discuss the move's effect on the South Korean economy, Vice minister of economy and finance, Lee Ho-seung, held a meeting on Monday in Seoul with economy-related officials.<br />The meeting comes after Korean stocks plunged and the won sharply depreciated last week.<br />The vice minister said Washington's decision will have a limited impact on the real economy because the higher tariffs will apply to new shipments from China starting May 10th...meaning no 'immediate' effect.<br />Because the two sides are still expressing a willingness to pursue negotiations, he emphasized there's no need for excessive pessimism. <br />Although there's the possibility for volatility in the international financial market, the South Korean government believes it has a strong buffer to counteract external uncertainties such as its foreign exchange reserves of more than 400-billion dollars. <br />To minimize the negative effect of the trade spat, the ministry aims to hold frequent meetings with related groups such as the trade ministry and the Financial Services Commission.<br />The Bank of Korea also held a meeting on Monday...and vowed to closely monitor the situation.<br />The central bank said stocks on Wall Street rebounded...and South Korea's credit default swap premium, which measures the risk of national bankruptcy, has dropped.<br />Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News. <br />
