정부 "미중 무역갈등 실물영향 제한적…필요시 시장안정조치"

And eyes are also on how the renewed Washington-Beijing trade war would affect the South Korean economy.
Ko Roon-hee reports.
The trade war between the world's biggest economies has escalated after the U.S. more than doubled tariffs on 200-billion U.S. dollars worth of Chinese imports last Friday after talks in Washington failed to produce a breakthrough.
To discuss the move's effect on the South Korean economy, Vice minister of economy and finance, Lee Ho-seung, held a meeting on Monday in Seoul with economy-related officials.
The meeting comes after Korean stocks plunged and the won sharply depreciated last week.
The vice minister said Washington's decision will have a limited impact on the real economy because the higher tariffs will apply to new shipments from China starting May 10th...meaning no 'immediate' effect.
Because the two sides are still expressing a willingness to pursue negotiations, he emphasized there's no need for excessive pessimism.
Although there's the possibility for volatility in the international financial market, the South Korean government believes it has a strong buffer to counteract external uncertainties such as its foreign exchange reserves of more than 400-billion dollars.
To minimize the negative effect of the trade spat, the ministry aims to hold frequent meetings with related groups such as the trade ministry and the Financial Services Commission.
The Bank of Korea also held a meeting on Monday...and vowed to closely monitor the situation.
The central bank said stocks on Wall Street rebounded...and South Korea's credit default swap premium, which measures the risk of national bankruptcy, has dropped.
Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News.