Trump's 2nd 'trade barrier' is real...What is the impact of the Korean industry?

[Anchor]
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration is just a week away.

As "protectionism" is becoming a fait accompli compared to the first period, the government and industry are on high alert and are closely watching the trend.

Reporter Hwang Hye-kyung reports.

[Reporter]
Universal tariffs that President Trump vowed to sign on his first day in office.

[Donald Trump / U.S. President-elect] Tariffs will make America richer if they are used well. We have all the cards in our hands.

The plan calls for imposing tariffs of 60% on China and 10% to 25% on the rest of the country, which is basically a check against China.

However, depending on how much tariffs are added to Korean products, it is expected to be a direct hit to Korean companies that are highly dependent on exports to the U.S.

The Korea Institute of Industrial Economics and Trade predicted that the reduction in exports to the United States would reach as little as 9% and as much as 13%,
The
Trade Association also predicted that the export economy will deteriorate.

Companies also expected export growth to barely exceed 1% this year, citing sluggish export economies and tariff burdens as the biggest reasons.

The urgent government is tightening the reins to minimize the so-called "Trump risk."

While holding weekly meetings on pending foreign economic issues centered on Acting President Choi Sang-mok,

The Trade Commission will be expanded and reorganized, and the largest trade financing ever worth 360 trillion won will be provided to export companies.

[Choi Sang-mok / Acting President: We will establish strategies for each major issue, such as raising tariffs and abolishing the IRA, and diversify our export, investment and supply networks. We will focus on communication efforts with the new U.S. government by consolidating the public-private foreign cooperation capabilities.

The industry is working hard to come up with survival strategies according to the industry.

While tightening the belt through reorganization and tightening management, we are also considering ways to overcome tariff barriers.

Hyundai Steel's investment card of building a U.S. steel mill is part of this, and POSCO's decision to consider the U.S. as a strong candidate among several investment destinations.

However, it does not seem easy to bypass the "Trump-trumped" trade barrier, given that the majority of domestic conglomerates have already invested heavily in the U.S. during the Biden administration and lack of additional investment due to the economic slowdown.

[Cho Seong-dae / Director of Trade Research at the Korea International Trade Association: Due to Trump's tariff measures and various supply chain variables, I think investing in the U.S. may be a good option for American companies with the largest export market. However, it seems necessary to thoroughly consider the reality that investment in the U.S. is more expensive than Korean companies think and local infrastructure and manpower supply and demand issues are not easy.]

Poor domestic demand, high prices, high exchange rates, and U.S. protectionism....

Strategic and all-round cooperation and communication between the government and businesses are becoming more urgent than ever.

I'm YTN Hwang Hye-kyung.