South Korea struggles with uncertainty over U.S. trade negotiations

Seoul – South Korea, an important trade partner and military ally, for pushing trade threats this week, is struggling with Washington to navigate the uncertainty on trade negotiations with Washington.

Trump sent a new dictation letter on Monday Tariff Rates To 14 countries including South Korea Shoot with 25 % tax. The desphis were prepared to kick on Tuesday, but was postponed to August 1. Trump left the door open for another extension and said that the new deadline is not “solid but 100% robust, depending on what trading partners can offer to journalists.

However, it is unclear whether the additional three weeks will be sufficient to resolve long -standing disputes between Washington and Seoul. One of the biggest contention points is the automobile industry of South Korea, the third largest exporter of US cars last year.

Although the White House was a press secretary Karoline Leavitt In a statement on Monday, Trump’s phone said, çıktı The world leaders who always begged to come to an agreement came out of the hook. ”

Last week, before the first date of July 8, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, He started his duty last month, “It’s hard to say for sure we can finish. [the trade talks] Until July 8 “

“Both sides are doing their best and we need to find a mutual conclusion for both sides, but we could not clearly determine what each side wants,” he added.

Since then, senior South Korean trade officials have been sent to Washington in the hope of bringing an agreement within a striking distance.

After meeting with US Trade Secretary Howard Lutnick on Monday, it is time to accelerate negotiations and find a landing zone.

So far, only the two countries that make new trade agreements with the Trump administration, England and Vietnam.

However, the Lee administration continued a note grade. At a high-level meeting on Tuesday, Lee’s policy of policy presidential chief Kim Yong-Beom, in order to discuss the current situation of negotiations, supported the authorities to support the affected industries and the “national interests” of South Korea’s “diversification”.

Analysts, under a free trade agreement that lasted decades, most of the US goods are already zero in South Korean tariffs. And in lock discussions like carThere are very few daylight to be found.

“This announcement will send a creepy message to others, Wendy Cutler Wendy Cutler, the Vice President of the Washington -based Asia Association, and Wendy Cutler, former US Trade Negotiator.

Cutler suggested that Trump’s letter will also be “not open to schedules, from sectoral tariffs, including cars.

South Korean trade officials stressed that the removal or significant reduction of 25% tariffs in cars is the biggest priority.

The White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt organizes a trade letter sent to South Korea at a press conference on Monday.

(Through Al Drago / Bloomberg Getty Images)

However, South Korean cars from Hyundai and Kia are significantly entering the trade deficit of $ 66 billion about Trump is unfair. Last year, South Korea was the third largest exporter of cars to a US US $ 34.7 billion. BUY 2.1 billion dollars of a car from the USA

So far, the country’s flagship automobile manufacturers Hyundai And Kia was able to remove large tariff shocks by selling sales in the US in the first half of the year by selling sales in the USA.

However, many believe that as some competitors do, it is only a matter of time enough to have to raise the prices of vehicles. It is estimated that both companies will hit double -digit decreases compared to the previous year.

The US also reportedly demanded privileges in South Korea, which is a much more difficult sales than the expanded production cooperation in South Korea’s trade talks in South Korea.

Among these, it opens the rice market of South Korea to the US imports and allows Google to express its high -precision geographical data to its servers outside South Korea.

As an important product representing a significant part of the income of farmers, rice is one of the few protected goods in South Korea’s trade relations. In accordance with the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, Seoul brings 5% tariff up to 132,304 tons of US rice and a tariff of 513% for anything after that.

US army troops attended a ceremony last month in Dongducheon, South Korea. A report dated 2021 from the US government’s accountability office, from 2016 to 2019, found that the continuation of American troops in South Korea cost that it cost 19.2 billion dollars.

(Kim Jae-hwan / stick images through Getty Images)

The South Korean government has long rejected the demands of Google to export high -precision geographical data used for the company’s map services on the grounds that Google could reveal sensitive military sites for defense against North Korea. Last year, Ukraine accused Google of exposing some military systems to Russia.

Equally boring, Trump’s long -standing demands Seoul should pay more To host 28,500 US soldiers in South Korea.

“South Korea makes a lot of money and they are very good. They are very good, but you know, they should pay for their own armies, Tr Trump said on Tuesday at a White House Cabinet meeting, South Korea should pay $ 10 billion a year.

According to the 2021 report from the US State Accounting Office, the total cost of maintaining US troops in South Korea for four years from 2016 to 2019 was 19.2 billion dollars or approximately 4.8 billion dollars per year. During this period, South Korea achieved approximately 30% of total annual costs, as well as providing indirect financial support, such as waived taxes or foreseen rents.

In accordance with the Special Measures Agreement, the joint framework that manages this regulation, Seoul’s payments grew over time. In the latest version covering 2026-2030, Seoul’s annual contribution to next year will increase from 2025 to an increase of 8.3% and will increase every year later.

Trump’s demand for about 10 times – along with the threats that the US could withdraw from the country – previously suffered a widespread anger in the country, and some of them encouraged calls for the development of South Korea’s own nuclear arsenal.

“ Special Measures Agreement (SMA) guarantees stable conditions for the US troops deployed in Korea and strengthens the South Korea – US defense stance. In response to the comments of South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Trump.

“Our stance is that the South Korean government will remain connected to the 12th SMA, which is understood and legally applied.”