A chart shows measures South Korean small and medium-sized companies are taking in response to changes in U.S. Section 232 tariffs. Data from Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business. Graphic by Asia Today and translated by UPI.
June 21 (Asia Today) -- Changes to U.S. tariffs imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act are sharply reducing the profitability of South Korean small and medium-sized manufacturers, an industry survey released Sunday found.
Companies said the revised rules had substantially increased their tariff burden, particularly for manufactured components with high processing and labor costs.
The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business released the findings after surveying 600 companies affected by the tariffs from April 29 through May 29.
The survey found that 56.3% of respondents did not know which category of the revised U.S. tariff annex covered their exported products.
