SEOUL: South Korea will lower tariff rates on a total of 90 products next year to strengthen competitiveness of small businesses and stabilise prices of key materials, the finance ministry says, Yonhap reports.

       The number is higher than the 83 items subject to temporary tariff cuts under a tariff quota system this year, the news agency said, citing the ministry.

       These products include crude oil, liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, sugar, corn, chicken eggs and materials needed to produce batteries, it said.

       In particular, tariff rates on crude oil designed to make naphtha will be lowered from 3% to 0.5%.

       Oil imports intended to produce liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas will see their tariff rates down from 3% to 2%.

       The tariff quota system allows a government to import a certain amount of products at a reduced tariff rate. The tariff quota for those 90 items is set to take effect from Jan 1-Dec 31 next year.

       In a separate report, South Korea’s consumer sentiment index dropped for the first time in four months in December due to concerns over the resurgence of the coronavirus, central bank data showed yesterday.

       The composite consumer sentiment index or CCSI came to 103.9 in December, down 3.7 points from the previous month, Yonhap reported, citing data from the Bank of Korea.

       This marked the first decline since August when the index fell to 102.5 from the previous month’s 103.2.

       A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists.

       The decline came amid deepened worries over the resurgence of the coronavirus and the spread of the potentially more transmissible Omicron variant.

       On Monday, South Korea reported 4,207 new Covid-19 infections and 69 new Omicron variant cases.

       The government has reimposed restrictions on people’s gatherings and curfews on business operations as infections spiked after it eased virus curbs early last month with an aim to return to normalcy under the “living with Covid-19” scheme.

       The subindex for people’s assessment of current economic conditions came in at 79 in December, down from 81 in November, while the index gauging people’s outlook for future economic conditions fell from 96 to 88 over the same period. — The Korea Herald/ANN