This file photo taken on Sept. 30, 2022, shows imported fruits displayed at a supermarket in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea plans to expand its tariff-rate quota on energy and food imports as the country struggles to cope with inflation and the strong U.S. dollar, the finance ministry said Friday.
The tariff-rate quota is a system under which products are imported with favorable duty conditions within a designated volume. The amount imported beyond the limit is applied with higher tariffs.
The latest decision will cut total duties of 482 billion won (US$339.1 million), according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
In detail, South Korea will extend the zero-tariff policy for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports within the quota by three months to March 2023.
The ministry said the move came as the prolonged war between Russia and Ukraine has disrupted the global supply.
South Korea also decided to apply the zero-tariff policy on eggs within the quota through June next year following an outbreak of avian influenza here earlier this month, which may weigh down on the production next year.
The country plans to apply the system to popular imported fruits, namely mangoes, pineapples and bananas, lowering the tariffs to zero from the current 30 percent through the end of this year.
The Korean won dipped up to around 17 percent against the U.S. dollar this year amid global economic uncertainties, driving up the costs of imports and sparking inflationary pressures.
The country’s consumer prices soared 5.6 percent on-year in September.
The government aims to implement the policy in early November, the ministry said.
(Yonhap)
