- Registration date2025-09-23
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The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE, Minister Kim Jung-kwan) announced that Minister Kim chaired a roundtable with steel and aluminum derivative companies and visited the “Tariff Response 119 (1600-7119)” site at KOTRA on Monday, September 22. The visit was arranged to hear directly from companies most affected by U.S. tariff measures on steel and aluminum derivatives and to review the operation of the Tariff Response 119 support system.
At the meeting, MOTIE announced plans to upgrade the existing Tariff Response 119 service into “Tariff Response 119 Plus.” Since its launch in February, Tariff Response 119 has received and provided consultations on 7,708 tariff-related cases as of September 18, establishing itself as an integrated consultation channel. However, challenges remained in resolving multi-agency issues and incorporating feedback into new policies and services.
To address this, MOTIE will expand the functions of Tariff Response 119 beyond case reception, consultation, and program guidance to include resolving issues through inter-agency collaboration and feeding results back into new services and policies. Agencies attending the event, including the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, the Korea Institute of Origin Information, and other related organizations, will designate 119 officers to ensure issues that cannot be resolved by KOTRA alone are followed through to completion. MOTIE will continue to expand collaboration with export-related organizations and reflect analysis of tariff issue types and best practices into new services and policies.
New services reflecting on-site needs will also be launched this month, including: (1) support for submitting company position papers on tariff issues to the U.S. government, (2) consulting on applications for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) e-ruling system, and (3) assistance in responding to CBP post-verification data requests. A specialized support program for steel and aluminum derivative companies will also be introduced, featuring a dedicated consultation desk and one-on-one advisory services with local U.S. experts.
During the roundtable, industry representatives raised three main concerns: (1) declining price competitiveness due to tariffs, (2) difficulties in calculating content value for derivative products, and (3) limited access to tariff-related information. In response, MOTIE and related agencies pledged to accelerate implementation of the “Post-U.S. Tariff Negotiation Support Measures” announced on September 3 and to strengthen policy feedback through Tariff Response 119 Plus.
Following the roundtable, Minister Kim visited the Steel Derivatives Tariff Response Briefing and Consultation Session held at KOTRA. The event provided around 200 steel and aluminum derivative companies with accurate updates on U.S. tariff policies and strategies to mitigate tariff burdens. More than 100 affected companies also took part in one-on-one consultations with lawyers and customs experts from Korea and the United States for tailored advice.
Furthermore, a dedicated support booth was set up to showcase the “Ten On-Site Support Programs” announced on September 3, covering short-term management support, steel derivatives, burden reduction, and alternative market development, giving companies hands-on access to government services.
Minister Kim toured the booth with a participating company (STU), checking tariff rates by HS code through the online tariff system and reviewing content value calculations for steel and aluminum derivatives. He then visited the consultation area to hear directly from company representatives.
Minister Kim stressed, “In today’s changing trade environment, the priority is to develop support measures that reflect companies’ on-site needs. We will steadily implement the expansion of Tariff Response 119 into Tariff Response 119 Plus, while continuing a series of roundtables with a joint public-private export support group to ensure on-site voices are fully reflected in new services and policies.”