South Korea has said that it has decided to cancel or reduce import quota tariffs on 45 commodities in an effort to ease the inflationary pressures caused by rising global commodity prices.
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said in a statement that flour, aluminum ore, silk yarns, cotton yarns and methanol will be included in tax-free imports.
The cancellation of tariffs will take effect from August until the end of 2008. This will allow the Korean government to spend about 150 billion won (US$149 million).
The goal of this initiative is to reduce the prices of imported raw materials in the context of rising commodity prices in the global market. People are worried that the rising prices of global commodities will further increase the already high production costs and consumer prices.
Similarly, the Ministry of Planning and Finance of the Republic of Korea in April 2007 also abolished import quota tariffs on 69 products including wheat and cereals, and reduced the tax rates on four kinds of petroleum-related products.
South Korea will cancel or reduce import quotas for raw materials
The South Korean government will begin to cancel or reduce tariffs on import quotas for 45 commodities from August to ease inflationary pressures.