Korea will temporarily exempt additional shipping costs from tariffs on Middle East imports rerouted due to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, the government announced, as concerns mount over raw material shortages, reported Seoul's Korea Times.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced a deregulatory package to stabilise supply chains without extra fiscal spending. Measures include fast-tracking customs clearance for energy and raw materials and excluding detour-related shipping surcharges from import duty calculations.

First Vice Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il said the changes will be reflected in a revision to the Customs Act enforcement decree next week and applied retroactively to shipments already hit by surging freight costs. The Worldscale index for Middle East-China tanker rates jumped to 426.89 in March, up 608 per cent from 60.3 a year earlier.

Authorities will allow pre-arrival clearance for crude oil, naphtha and other imports to speed manufacturing. For chemical substances facing supply risks, companies may submit hazard testing plans instead of full data, cutting registration times from three months.

The government will ease labelling rules for food and sanitary products, permitting stickers instead of direct printing to address packaging shortages. Officials also pledged to secure supplies of household trash bags, reducing inspection periods to one day from 10 and redistributing stock more efficiently.

Korea imports about 45 per cent of its naphtha, with 77 per cent sourced from the Middle East. Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol urged ministries to monitor supply chains daily and prepare further measures to offset consumption constraints linked to the Iran war.