It looks like President Trump’s steel tariff may force the South Koreans to agree to ultimately pay more for the upkeep of the US-ROK alliance:
Victor Cha
South Korea may agree to shoulder a larger burden of the cost of stationing U.S. troops on its soil as part of the two nations’ deal on trade, a former White House official said Monday.
Victor Cha, who served as Asian affairs director on the National Security Council of George W. Bush, raised the possibility shortly after Seoul announced a tentative deal with Washington on amending their free trade agreement and exempting the Asian nation from new U.S. steel tariffs.
“If there is any tacit issue linkage with this agreement, we might expect to see South Korea agreeing to a higher burden sharing obligation in ongoing negotiations on a new Special Measures Agreement where the U.S. is pushing for South Korea to pay larger share of costs for stationing U.S. forces on the Korean peninsula,” he wrote in a commentary for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where he is currently senior adviser and Korea chair. [Yonhap]
It’s now becoming clear that Trump and his “Art of the Deal” strategy is coming into play in his political career. First, he imposes high tariffs on imported steel, something that is a key component of the South Korean export market, then he says, “Well, if you consider sharing more of the cost for keeping U.S. forces here, then maybe we’ll consider a special agreement on steel tariffs.” I think the economy will do quite well under a man who knows how to deal with people in a business environment.
3-D Chess?
It’s now becoming clear that Trump and his “Art of the Deal” strategy is coming into play in his political career. First, he imposes high tariffs on imported steel, something that is a key component of the South Korean export market, then he says, “Well, if you consider sharing more of the cost for keeping U.S. forces here, then maybe we’ll consider a special agreement on steel tariffs.” I think the economy will do quite well under a man who knows how to deal with people in a business environment.