South Korea has officially set its tariff on imported rice exceeding a quota at 513 percent.
The Agriculture Ministry said on Friday that revisions to the country's schedules of concessions to the World Trade Organization(WTO) have been proclaimed, ending the yearslong tariffication process for the nation's key staple grain.
South Korea will slap a 513-percent tariff on imported rice exceeding the quota of 408-thousand-700 tons, but a five-percent tariff will continue to be imposed on quantities below the quota.
Out of the quota, 388-thousand-700 tons will be allotted to China, the U.S., Vietnam, Thailand and Australia, based on imports between 2015 and 2017.
South Korea has deferred its rice market liberalization for 20 years, after joining the WTO in 1995.
After the tariff grace period ended in September 2014, Seoul submitted its revised schedules of concessions, proposing the 513-percent tariff on imported rice which was approved by the WTO in 2020.