“Striving to Revitalize Domestic Demand… Will Review All Measures” – On the 4th, Minister Han Sung-sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups requested “comprehensive support for enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)” in relation to the U.S. tariff issues.
According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, during a meeting with executives, Minister Han mentioned, “Although conditions for trading with major countries on equal or superior terms have been established through tariff negotiations, the restructuring of international trade order will continue to accelerate.”
Minister Han stated, “The government is making every effort to revitalize domestic demand as a primer for economic recovery. We will review every possible measure to invigorate the regional economy.”
This meeting was held to evaluate plans for consumption promotion events being carried out in different regions through the recently launched ‘Consumption Activation Task Force (TF)’ and to examine the existing support status concerning tariff responses.
Regarding domestic demand revitalization, the Ministry discussed ways to strengthen on-site support and policy implementation structures focused on public sentiment. Based on these discussions, the ministry plans to systematically implement follow-up tasks.
They also reviewed the current status of tariff response support. The ministry has been providing various support measures to minimize the tariff impact on exporting SMEs, such as ‘SME Export Support Measures’ and ‘Additional Support Measures for U.S. Tariff.’
Leveraging these efforts, the ministry has been implementing all possible means for exporting SMEs to overcome tariff burdens, including the ‘Export Barrier Zero’ program using export vouchers and emergency management stability fund support.
Discussions also covered establishing safety nets for SMEs and micro-enterprises, such as recovery systems for large-scale disasters. Minister Han inspected the recovery status of traditional markets and SMEs/micro-enterprises impacted by the heavy rains last July.
According to the government, the heavy rains affected 12 traditional markets, 4 shopping districts, 62 SMEs, and 7 micro-enterprises. Additionally, they reviewed the recovery systems and initial response measures for large-scale disasters, including policy finance consultations, application support for disaster-affected SMEs, and inspections of electrical safety facilities.