S Korean steel co to suspend exports to US

SEOUL, Mar 15 (Reuters): South Korea's Dongkuk Steel said on Thursday that it would temporarily halt its April exports to United States as the country tries to win exemptions from U.S. steel tariffs.

A company spokesman said the steelmaker put on hold its exports for April, while South Korean government has said it keeps asking for the country's steel to be waived from the tariffs.

"We haven't decided yet whether or not we will continue to stop exporting our products to U.S," the spokesman said.

South Korea will "deploy all possible means" to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, the country's finance minister said on Monday.

Dongkuk sold about 130 billion won ($122.29 million) worth of steel products to the U.S. last year, which accounted for about four per cent of its total sales, according to the spokesman.

Last week, Trump pressed ahead with import tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 per cent for aluminium, but exempted Canada and Mexico and offered the possibility of excluding other allies, backtracking from an earlier "no-exceptions" stance.