Seoul: The Korea Customs Service announced on Monday that it has apprehended two local companies for exporting steel products to the European Union (EU) without paying the required tariffs.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the two companies have been referred to the prosecution on charges of exporting approximately 126,000 tons of color-coated steel sheets, valued at 230 billion won (US$168.5 million), to EU member nations from 2020 to 2023. These exports were allegedly conducted without paying any duties. The firms are suspected of filing false reports indicating that their shipments were destined for a non-EU country in order to evade tariffs, while they were actually sent to EU countries.
The European Union implements quarterly import quotas for each country, allowing imports within the quota to be tariff-free. However, imports exceeding the quota are subjected to a 25 percent tariff. The Seoul customs authority noted that these companies "unfairly" deprived other Korean steel manufacturers, who adhered to the required procedures, of the opportunity for duty-free exports.