More than half of South Korea’s small and medium-sized exporters have yet to devise measures to cope with the United States’ retaliatory tariffs, according to a government survey.
The Korea Customs Service (KCS) said on September 8 that it surveyed 667 companies exporting to the U.S., and 51.1% of respondents answered that they had “no specific countermeasures.” About 27.7% said they would focus on cost reduction to strengthen price competitiveness, while only 7.3% considered expanding investment or market presence in the U.S.
Regarding the impact of the recently imposed 15% reciprocal tariff, 53.8% of companies expected their exports this year to decline by 10–50%. Another 33.7% anticipated little or less than a 10% decrease, while 8.4% projected a drop of more than 50%.
When asked about prospects for U.S. tariff policy over the next one to two years, the largest portion (34.9%) said it was “unpredictable,” followed by “remain at current levels” (24.7%) and “strengthening protectionism” (21.7%).
The biggest challenge in U.S. customs clearance was verifying whether goods were subject to retaliatory tariffs (66.3%), followed by non-preferential rules of origin (11.1%) and product classification issues (10.5%).
As for the most needed government support, respondents cited export financing (37.5%), U.S. customs information (28.6%), and assistance with trade disputes (22.3%).
The KCS said it plans to actively support customs administration to ease the burden on exporters based on the survey findings.
Source: http://www.koreapost.com