(MENAFN- QNA) South Korea will likely set its tariffs on rice imports at more than 500%, a senior government official said Tuesday.
"The government plans to set the import tariff rate at the highest possible level to protect the country's rice industry," the official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs told reporters.
The move comes as South Korea is scheduled to liberalize its rice market through tarrification starting next year. The government is expected to notify the World Trade Organization (WTO) of the tariff rate before the end of the month, according to South Korea's (Yonhap) News Agency.
Ministry officials have said anything more than a 400% tariff rate would be enough to protect the local industry by making imports more expensive than locally produced rice.
The ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there were pros and cons to setting a high tariff rate, noting the country must provide its reasons for the high rate to the WTO.
South Korea has been allowed to delay its rice market liberalization under a 1993 agreement with the WTO in exchange for expanding the mandatory rice import quota, which reached 408,000 tons this year. The quota will be maintained even after the rice market opening.
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