South Korea’s steel exports to the United States tumbled 26 per cent in July from a year earlier, hit by Washington’s doubled tariffs, a trade association said on Sunday.
In June, U.S. President Donald Trump raised tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 50 per cent, up from the 25 per cent imposed in March.
Korean steel shipments to the U.S. fell to $283 million last month from $382 million a year earlier, according to data from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), reports Yonhap news agency.
The value marked the lowest level in four years and four months, since March 2021. By volume, July exports dropped 24 percent on-year to 194,000 tons, the lowest since January 2023, KITA said.
In response to the steep tariffs, POSCO and Hyundai Steel Co., the country’s two largest steelmakers, have unveiled plans to invest in a steel plant in the U.S.
In March, Hyundai Steel announced it would build a US$5.8 billion electric arc furnace-based integrated steel mill in Louisiana by 2029, with production slated to begin the same year. The following month, POSCO said it would join the project.
Given the plant’s completion timeline, the steelmakers are widely expected to face tariff pressures for several more years, industry officials said.
South Korean steelmakers earlier said they will set up an “item-by-item” export strategy through close consultations with government officials and industry associations in response to hefty U.S. tariffs.
Korean steelmakers, already suffering an oversupply and slowing prices, had been deeply concerned that the addition of reciprocal tariffs may significantly undermine their price competitiveness in the U.S. market, according to the report.
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