The government has launched a process to counter Britain’s extensive safeguards against South Korean steel exports, after both sides failed to resolve the issue.

According to the Commerce Department on Wednesday, it recently notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it could suspend tariff concessions to Britain, corresponding to the amount of damage suffered by the safeguards.

It comes after Britain, along with the European Union (EU), extended the measures for another three years in July. Seoul and London failed to resolve the dispute, despite a series of bilateral consultations.

While a WTO member can invoke suspension of concessions three years after the application of safeguard measures, Seoul previously notified the WTO to possibly invoke them against the EU and Britain in April 2019 .

This is because Britain is inheriting protections, introduced in 2018, to impose a 25% duty on imported steel products above EU quotas after the completion of Brexit at the end of the l ‘last year.

Officials in Seoul said they plan to coordinate the counterattack closely with national steelmakers, while seeking to continue negotiations with London.