If Trump wants to increase tariffs on South Korea I don’t think it really matters who the leader is:
Korea’s ongoing leadership crisis, triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s attempt to impose martial law, is feared to leave the country vulnerable to potential new tariffs from the incoming Donald Trump administration during upcoming trade and economic negotiations, industry officials said Sunday.
Yoon is suspended from his duties following the National Assembly’s vote on Saturday to impeach him over his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has stepped in as acting president.
Officials from the nation’s business community expressed concerns that Korea may have weaker negotiating power under the presidency of the interim head of state.
“Every nation engages in a tight tug-of-war with the United States to minimize any damages from the ultra-protectionist stance of Trump,” an official from a major manufacturing firm here said.
“But it becomes harder for Korea to do so on an equal footing due to the absence of the state leader.”
I wonder if the ROK will get auto tariff relief when they decide to pay the amount President Trump has asked them to pay for the upkeep of the US-ROK alliance?
South Korea’s Trade Minister will visit the U.S. next week to call for the country’s exemption from potential U.S. tariffs on auto imports.
Minister Yoo Myung-hee announced the plan in a meeting with reporters on Tuesday, emphasizing that South Korea cannot be complacent or sit idle on the issue.
She plans to leave for the U.S. on Monday and meet with officials from the White House, Commerce Department, US Trade Representative as well as members of Congress.
U.S. President Donald Trump has until Friday of next week to decide whether auto import tariffs are necessary for national security under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. If a conclusion is made that such a measure is needed, the U.S. can impose tariffs of 25 percent on imported cars.
Steel products are stored at a factory in Dangjin on the west coast on Feb. 19, 2018. South Korean steelmakers are bracing for a U.S. move to slap high import tariffs on steel products from South Korea and a handful of other countries. (Yonhap)
