Washington is considering imposing more import restrictions and tariffs on foreign producers in the name of national security.
South Korea included, meaning, local tech firms could also see trade barriers following complaints of patent infringements.
Cha Sang-mi with more.
Concerns are growing over the fate of Korea's major export items in the wake of continued global import restrictions by the United States, including recent safeguard measures against Korean-made steel and washing machines.
The U.S. International Trade Commission on Sunday said it had already opened up a probe into several global tech giants, including South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix on January 19th to look into whether the companies are infringing upon intellectual property rights of solid-state drives.
The investigation came after a U.S. chipmaker BiTMICRO had filed a complaint against the firms in early January.
The U.S. ITC can restrict import items under "Section 337" of the Tariff Act on allegations of patent or trademark infringement.
As Samsung Electronics has the largest SSD market share in the U.S., with 30 percent of the market, and SK Hynix is ranked seventh, some industry leaders see the move as a way to target the Korean firms.
KOTRA, the Korea Trade Promotion Corporation also picked steel, home appliances, and cars as areas that are likely to see import restrictions in the first half of 2018.
"A lot of companies are being encouraged to file anti-trade suits: anti-dumping or safeguards. And you see a lot investigations being sued right now. Whether it will spread to other industries than steel or automobile, it really depends on the company."
The expert predicts requests for import restrictions in the steel and manufacturing sectors will increase in the future not just for Korean goods, but other countries' goods as well.
The U.S. Department of Commerce urged the Trump administration last week to impose steep tariffs and quotas on imported steel and aluminum,... including shipments from South Korea.
"Section 232" of the national security review, unveiled on Friday, suggested a range of tariff options on imported steel and aluminum.
One of the options is a 53 percent tariff on 12 steel exporting countries including South Korea, China and Brazil.
President Trump will decide in April which tariff option to impose.
Cha Sang-mi, Arirang News.
