President Lee Jae Myung on Friday speaks during a press brefing at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul. (Yonhap)
President Lee Jae Myung said Friday that Seoul expects a favorable outcome from the European Union over concerns about the bloc’s planned steel tariff-rate quota measures, which could affect South Korea's steel industry.
Lee said he raised the issue directly with EU leaders during his recent visit to Brussels. Earlier, a senior presidential official said Brussels had responded that it would take Seoul’s request into full consideration.
He made the remarks during a briefing at Cheong Wa Dae on the outcome of his recent trip to Europe, which had also taken him to Italy, the Vatican and France for the Group of Seven summit. The visit came amid growing concerns in Seoul that the EU’s revised steel import regime, set to take effect July 1, could sharply reduce tariff-free quota access for Korean steel products.
“I conveyed our position to EU leaders that such measures should not become a trade barrier,” Lee said.
He said he asked the EU to give “special consideration” to South Korea, noting that the country is both a free trade agreement partner and a strategic partner of the bloc.
On June 11, Presidential Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom, who accompanied Lee during the trip, said EU officials had responded that they would take Seoul’s request into full consideration, citing South Korea as a country that shares common values with the bloc and an important strategic partner.
Kim also said working-level negotiations on Korea’s steel quota had made “substantial progress,” adding that Seoul expected a better outcome compared with other countries.
The EU has been moving to tighten its steel import regime amid concerns over global steel overcapacity and growing pressure on European producers. The measures are widely seen as part of efforts to protect the European steel industry from surging imports, particularly as the United States has also raised tariffs on steel products.
Lee said Seoul understands the pressures behind the EU’s move, but warned that the measures should not lead major economies back toward protectionism or undermine open trade.
Lee said his talks with EU leaders also covered broader cooperation on economic security and global issues, including peace on the Korean Peninsula and tensions in the Middle East.
Lee also said his Europe trip showed that South Korea’s international standing and expectations for its role had grown over the past year.
“Through this trip, I felt that the status of the Republic of Korea and expectations from the international community have clearly risen,” Lee said, referring to South Korea by its official name.
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