China may ban Korean imports

China may ban Korean imports

SEOUL (AFX-ASIA): China has threatened to ban imports of South
Korean mobile phones and polyethylene goods in a trade dispute
over garlic, a South Korean trade official said.

Beijing has said South Korea has only imported 22,000 of the
32,000 tons of Chinese garlic it promised to import last year.

"China has set next Wednesday for the deadline for Seoul to
import the remaining 10,000 tons or face punitive actions," an
unnamed trade official told Agence France Presse.

The government has urged its importers to buy the 10,000 tons
of garlic from China, but local businesses refuse to import it as
its price continues to fall on low domestic demand.

The official said Beijing warned it would put a temporary ban
on Seoul's two key export items to China, cellular phones and
polyethylene goods, in retaliation.