Alaska gas pipeline project may open new opportunities for S. Korean steel industry: experts
SEOUL, March 9 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean steel industry may be able to clinch new opportunities if it takes part in the Alaska gas pipeline project led by the Donald Trump administration, despite the envisioned 25 percent U.S. tariff on all steel imports, experts said Sunday.
Such an assessment comes ahead of the planned imposition of 25 percent tariffs on all U.S. steel imports starting Wednesday (U.S. time).
The new duties may deal a blow to Korean steelmakers in the short term but open new business opportunities as they have advanced technologies and production capacity, the experts said.
South Korea has been considering taking part in the Trump administration's Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, aimed at building a nearly 1,300-kilometer pipeline from Alaska's vast North Slope to its southern port in Nikiski, also offering to do so in its recent tariff negotiations with Washington.
Korean companies have shown competitiveness in manufacturing steel products needed for drilling and transporting oil and gas, such as pipes and valves, according to the experts.
Last year, South Korea exported casings and steel pipes for drilling worth US$400 million to the U.S., becoming the largest exporter of the products to the country, according to data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).
Seoul was also the biggest supplier of steel tubes to the U.S. in 2024, with its outbound shipments reaching $288 million.
Major Korean steelmakers, such as POSCO Holdings Inc. and Hyundai Steel Co., also have the capabilities to develop and supply special steel products for LNG plants, according to industry watchers.
POSCO was the first company in the world to develop high manganese steel that can withstand temperatures of minus 163 C, thus allowing the storage of LNG at extremely low temperatures, like in Alaska.
Hyundai Steel produces thin plates for LNG tankers and steel materials for LNG storage tanks.
The start of the new U.S. steel tariffs is also expected to lift the U.S.' annual quota on shipments of South Korean steel, allowing the country to compete under the same conditions against Canada, Mexico, China and other major steel exporters, which could possibly lead to an increase in U.S.-bound shipments of South Korean steel products, the experts note.
Trump had imposed a 25 percent tariff on all steel imports to the U.S. in 2018, citing national security concerns.
At the time, the U.S. waived the tariffs on South Korean steel products in return for a yearly import quota of 2.63 million tons, which accounted for about 70 percent of Seoul's average export volume between 2015 and 2017.
nyway@yna.co.kr
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