Korea to expand flexible tariff list in 2016

South Korea will increase the number of products on its flexible tariff list next year to boost exports and spur growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy, the government said Tuesday.

The number of products eligible for preferential tariff rates will rise to 51 in 2016, up from 41 this year, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

Flexible tariffs, which cover both tariff quotas and adjustment duties, are used by the government to temporarily raise or lower basic tariff rates on particular products to stabilize prices, protect local producers and ensure a steady supply.

The ministry said the list for 2016 was made largely to boost exports.

"The government minimized the role of the flexible tariff system on price stabilization, considering the country's low inflation and continued drops in prices of oil and other raw materials but sought to increase its support for export companies and other vulnerable industries," it said in a press release.

South Korea's exports have been dipping every single month since the start of the year.

Against such a backdrop, nine items of industrial materials and parts used to produce display panels, semiconductors and secondary batteries, the country's key export goods, will benefit from import quotas next year, compared with four in 2015, while the amount of their imports subject to preferential rates will also increase to 60.8 billion won ($52 million) from 5.3 billion.

The ministry said it will offer low import tariff rates on certain petroleum product imports to improve the price competitiveness of local manufacturers hit by the plunge in global oil prices that have also pulled down export prices of the country's petroleum products.

Also to help offset a recent rise in costs for farmers, the government will offer low import duties on animal feed, the ministry said. (Yonhap)