South Korea is expected to face more uncertainties in trade amid the planned imposition of "reciprocal" tariffs by the US Donald Trump administration, the country's vice industry minister said Friday.
"Exports slightly increased in February, but environments surrounding exports are still unfavorable," First Vice Industry Minister Park Sung-taek said in a meeting held to check on export trends and related risks.
"The US administration imposed duties on all steel and aluminum imports and related derivative products, and if it imposes reciprocal tariffs as planned on April 2, uncertainties surrounding our exports will further escalate," he added.
South Korea exported a combined $101.6 billion in the first two months of this year, down 4.8 percent from the same period last year.
Outbound shipments of semiconductors, wireless communication devices, computers and bio-health products increased, while exports of petroleum products sharply decreased by 20.5 percent.
Park said the ministry is working to address South Korea's concerns over tariffs in talks with the US government, noting that Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun is currently on a visit to Washington to meet with US officials, including Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
"We will work to minimize the negative impact on our exports from the US trade policies," he said. (Yonhap)
