The government is expanding tariff allocation support for semiconductor and display materials and moving to strengthen industrial competitiveness in new growth areas.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance announced the 2025 regular allocation tariff plan on the 2nd.

Accordingly, the government decided to add five items to the target of tariff quotas, including copper foil and glass fiber for CCL, tin ingots for exposure equipment, anhydrous hydrofluoric acid, and masks for organic material deposition (FMS), in order to support the competitiveness of the semiconductor and display sectors, which are key high value-added industries where international competition is intensifying.

In the secondary battery sector, in addition to the previously supported artificial graphite, electrodes, electrolytes, and PE separators, a new tariff allocation will be applied to lithium hydroxide and adsorbents.

Meanwhile, the government decided to maintain the quota tariff support for LNG used for power generation and city gas in the winter (1st and 4th quarters) next year as well (tariff rate from 3% to 0%) in order to ease the ongoing economic burden on ordinary people.

In addition, it was decided to extend the quota tariff on LPG and crude oil used for LPG manufacturing, used for cooking and transportation by residents in rural areas where city gas is not provided, until the first half of next year (3% → 0%), and to review next year whether to extend it further in the second half of the year.

In the case of crude oil for naphtha production, it was decided to apply the quota tariff throughout the year (3% → 0%) to alleviate the management difficulties of the petrochemical industry, which is experiencing a large-scale decline in profits due to global economic uncertainty and structural oversupply, and to promote business diversification and restructuring.

In addition, we are consulting with related organizations such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to ensure food price stability for the common people.Accordingly, we decided to maintain support for food raw materials such as corn (for processing), soybeans, sugar, and potato starch that are not produced domestically or are in short supply and therefore subject to price increases, and to continue to support seven items, including cocoa beans, coffee and orange concentrates, radishes, and carrots, which have recently shown price instability and are currently being supported through emergency quota tariffs, through regular quota tariffs.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance will establish the '2025 Flexible Tariff Operation Plan' containing these contents and announce the legislation on December 2, 2024, and the finalized plan will be implemented from January 1 of next year.