Victor Cha, president of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, speaking during a forum in Seoul (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – The absence of a fully elected leader in South Korea poses a “danger” to Seoul’s efforts to address U.S. President Donald Trump’s push for tariffs, an expert said Thursday, stressing the importance of leader-to-leader engagement to neutralize the impact of those planned or proposed duties.
Victor Cha, president of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), made the remarks, noting that Seoul is in a period of political uncertainty caused by impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law bid in early December.
Cha also pointed out that from Trump’s prism, South Korea is a “prime target” in the sense that the Asian country has a trade surplus with the United States, which reached $55.7 billion last year, and that it is a treaty ally that Trump views as a country that relies on America’s security protection.
“The danger … is that not only are they (South Korea) potentially a prime target, but they do so at a time when they have no leadership in place, and (South Korea is) not likely to see leadership in place in Korea until the summer,” Cha said during a CSIS podcast.
He added that when U.S. allies deal with Trump, the “modus operandi” is that the leader of a country has to directly meet him and bring a “basket of goodies” to try to neutralize the impact of some sweeping tariffs or declarations the president has made.
Earlier this week, Trump announced plans to impose 25-percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports “without exceptions or exemptions” while he is set to unveil “reciprocal” tariffs on U.S. imports to match what other countries slap on U.S. exports.
Trump has also said that his administration is considering tariffs on chips, cars and pharmaceuticals.
(Yonhap)
