As the U.S. reorganized the way it imposed tariffs on steel, aluminum, copper and derivatives in April, small and medium-sized companies were concerned about worsening profitability.

According to the Small and Medium Business Administration's survey of 600 companies from April 29 to May 29, 40% of companies subject to 50% tariffs and 38.3% of companies subject to 25% tariffs expected "export conditions to deteriorate."

The survey was conducted to analyze the impact of changes in tariff calculation methods and differential application of tariff rates by annex on SMEs following the overhaul of Article 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act, which took effect on April 6. In April, the U.S. decided to apply 25% tariffs to derivatives high in steel, aluminum, and copper.

Companies predicting worsening exports cited "deteriorating profitability due to increased tariff burdens" (76.1%) as the biggest difficulty. There were also many respondents who said they were concerned about the "request of buyer to change the contract details" (37.3%). As a response (multiple responses), the most common response was that they would negotiate prices and terms of transaction with customers (52.2%).

[Reporter Yang]