As the recovery of the global economy is being delayed, the number of import-restrictive measures has increased sharply throughout the world. Import duties are rapidly falling in many countries thanks to the conclusion of various free trade agreements, forcing governments to resort to setting up non-tariff barriers, such as antidumping duties and safeguards, industry sources said.
Major targets of import controls are industries reeling from supply gluts, including steel and chemicals, especially so for Korean steelmakers and chemical companies.
According to the World Trade Organization and other sources, the number of unfair trade investigations by governments totaled 304 last year, up 50 percent from the 202 in 2005. They attributed the increase to the global recession and the consequent rise in protectionist sentiment.
The number of import-restricting measures against Korean products also increased to 29 last year, compared to 12 in 2011. Also, trade investigations launched against Korean exports this year totaled 26. As of 2014, 89 Korean products had been subject to antidumping restraints, third largest in the world, following China (500) and Taiwan (97). India and Indonesia were among the countries that set high barriers against Korean exports so they could protect their domestic industries.
The total export amount of 94 items hit by import controls, such as steel, chemical, textile and electronics, have dropped by 17 percent on average, from $11 billion in 2011 to $9 billion in 2012 and $7.6 billion in 2013. The export of nylon, which India started investigating in 2005, has since almost been suspended, an industry official said. So was the case of silicon metal, which the EU has been investigating since 2006.
This year, however, the most frequent complaints about Korean exports come from the United States, which started investigations of four different steel products exported by Korea. "The U.S. government is erecting strong import controls as a means of coping with the global supply glut of steel products," the source said.