Impact of U.S. and China on Korea

[Anchor]

We have seen the economic situations of the United States and China.

There are concerns about how the economic situations of the two countries will affect our industry.

Variables are increasing in both exports and domestic demand.

Reporter Jung Jae-woo has summarized the situation.

[Report]

Steelmaker Hyundai Steel filed two anti-dumping complaints with the government by the end of last year.

They are asking for an investigation into whether Chinese low-priced steel products are being dumped.

The industry believes it is difficult to cope with the influx of Chinese products that are 10-20% cheaper.

[Min Dong-jun/Professor Emeritus, Yonsei University: "Last year, the demand in our country was 50 million tons. About 10 to 12 million tons from China were released into our market. This will automatically lead to a reduction in our domestic production."]

Due to the large-scale industrial subsidies that the Chinese government has distributed to stimulate the economy, China has increased its production to levels that are difficult to manage domestically for each item.

China's production of steel, petrochemicals, electric vehicles, and batteries has already surged to account for half of the global supply, with solar power also in excess.

China's solution has been to push exports at low prices, known as 'dumping'.

They have continuously lowered export prices significantly, dropping them by over 7% last year as well.

For us, who share many export markets with China, this means we have to compete with cheaper Chinese goods not only in the domestic market but also in export markets.

In the meantime, the Trump administration in the United States has announced that it will impose universal tariffs of 60% on China and up to 20% on other countries.

There are concerns that exports to the U.S. will decrease immediately, and China's dumping could intensify as it faces barriers to its exports to the U.S.

[Cho Sung-dae/Director of Trade Research, Korea International Trade Association: "(The U.S.) hits China, and then China retaliates against the U.S., and through that, we could also suffer indirect damage."]

If the U.S. universal tariffs are applied, it is projected that our total exports could decrease by up to 65 trillion won.

This is KBS News, Jung Jae-woo.