South Korea says U.S.-China trade war may reduce exports of intermediate goods

Reuters
A worker grinds iron at his steel product shop in Seoul January 29, 2013. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea said on Thursday that an escalating trade dispute between the United States and China could weaken South Korea's exports of "intermediate goods" used in home appliances, computers and communications devices.

South Korea's trade ministry said in a statement that the trade spat could be "prolonged and spread," adding that it would prepare responses and scenarios to cope with the trade row.

On Wednesday, China accused the United States of bullying and warned it would hit back after the Trump administration raised the stakes in their trade dispute, threatening 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion (151.42 billion pounds) of Chinese goods.

(This version of the story was refiled to correct terminology to "intermediate" from "intermediary" in headline and first paragraph)

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Jane Chung; Editing by Sam Holmes)