S. Korea’s Reaction
The South Korean government is considering a measure to impose anti-dumping duties on some Chinese products. This is the first countermeasure come after China has escalated economic retaliations on South Korea over the deployment of the U.S.-led Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system, attracting attention.
Korea Customs Service (KCS) and Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) have decided to begin a massive crackdown on Chinese-made counterfeit goods estimated at some 2 trillion won (US$1.74 billion). The government said, “We do not target a specific country.” However, it is believed that South Korea is bracing for a full range of counterattacks in case things could be worse.
A senior official from the government said on March 8, “Companies have to make a relief request first, but we are currently reviewing whether to impose anti-dumping duties on some Chinese products.”
The government has extended a measure to impose anti-dumping tariffs of 27.21 percent on broad-leaf plywood imports from China and tentatively concluded to impose anti-dumping duties of up to 10 percent on Chinese offset printing plates this year. Under the circumstances, it will add more regulations.
Some business industry experts say that the government should impose anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese stainless steel (STS) products. A government official said, “Since interests are entangled among South Korean and Chinese steel companies, they have rarely asked for an investigation on dumping one another. However, it is not certain whether China will not impose anti-dumping duties on Korean steel products due to the THAAD now.”
The government will also crack down on fake products made in China. An official from the KIPO said, “We are preparing for an intensive crackdown on illegal counterfeit products sold and distributed online. We will be able to launch the crackdown soon.”
As China is increasingly copying domestic cultural contents, such as game and TV programs, the KCS has decided to tighten up on copyright and design infringement. According to the KCS, 1,543 smuggling cases involving luxury brand knockoffs were caught from 2012 to 2016, and 91.3 percent of them were from China, amounting to 2.74 trillion won (US$2.38 billion).
South Korea will make use of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The government will have bilateral talks with China at the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee meeting of the WTO to be held this month, and it is planning to bring up issues about 10 items including cosmetics products.