Seoul: The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) has expressed its concerns against a possible U.S. move to impose tariffs on copper imports, the association said Tuesday, amid an ongoing U.S. investigation into copper imports. The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) launched the investigation on March 10 under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act to assess the national security implications of imports of copper and copper derivative products. The DOC accepted public comments from interested parties through April 1.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Section 232 allows the U.S. president to impose import restrictions if imports of an item are found to pose a threat to national security. In its letter to the DOC, KITA argued that Korean copper products do not threaten U.S. national security and, in fact, help strengthen the stability of U.S. supply chains.
KITA noted that Korean copper accounted for just 3.5 percent of total U.S. imports last year, and highlighted South Korea's ongoing contributions to the U.S. copper industry through investments by LS Cable and System and Poongsan Corp. LS Cable and System, South Korea's biggest cable company, plans to invest US$800 million to build a submarine power cable plant in Virginia, with construction expected to begin later this month. Poongsan, a leading producer of copper, copper alloys, and ammunition, has been operating a facility in Iowa since 1992, producing 54,000 tons of copper products annually.
KITA also urged the U.S. government to consider flexible responses, such as narrowing the scope of derivative products subject to tariffs, to minimize the impact on downstream industries, in cases where full exemption of Korean imports may not be feasible.