Trump says US is already renegotiating KORUS FTA with South Korea

Posted on : 2017-07-15 14:45 KST Modified on : 2017-07-15 14:45 KST
US President also taking aim at China in his campaign to amend what he calls “horrible” trade deals
US President Donald Trump during a joint press conference after his summit with French President Emmanuel Macron
US President Donald Trump during a joint press conference after his summit with French President Emmanuel Macron

US President Donald Trump has slammed the South Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) as a “horrible deal” and said that the two sides have started “renegotiating” the agreement. Given Trump’s blunt language, the US is expected to put significant pressure on South Korea during the FTA negotiations.

“We started, as of yesterday, renegotiating the deal with South Korea. We have to,” Trump said on Air Force One on July 12 while on his way to France for a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron.

While the press conference originally took place off the record, the White House took the unusual step of releasing the transcript a day later, on July 13. This appears to be an attempt to pressure South Korea by making public Trump’s commitment to the KORUS FTA negotiations.

Trump’s remarks are partially incorrect. Though it was on July 12 that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) notified Seoul that a special session of the joint committee would be held to negotiate revisions and amendments, Trump said that this happened on July 11. Furthermore, Trump declared that the negotiations to revise the agreement had already begun even though, strictly speaking, the mere notification about holding a special session cannot be regarded as such.

There is nothing new about Trump offering explanations that are at variance with the facts. But attention ought to be paid to the fact that Trump used the word “renegotiation,” a word he has often used before, even though the official language used by the USTR is “revisions and amendments.”

To be sure, Trump is accustomed to using sensational language to drive up ratings on his TV shows. Since the term “renegotiate” suggests a complete overhaul of the current deal, it’s an effective way to play to his base of blue collar whites, who are hostile to free trade agreements.

The problem is that, based on trends so far, Trump’s advisors have done their best to make his remarks a reality instead of voicing objections to them. This means that the USTR could negotiate revisions to the agreement that are comparable to renegotiations.

“South Korea, we protect, but we're losing $40 billion a year with South Korea on trade,” Trump said, hinting that he could link security and trade. The Trump administration has employed a strategy of using security as leverage to extract more trade concessions from China and Japan as well. Even The Hill, a news outlet focusing on Congress, offered criticism of Trump’s remarks: “Any suggestion that the talks go beyond an update would likely endanger the talks and increase tensions between the two allies.”

Trump took aim at China, too. “We are being absolutely devastated by bad trade deals. We have the worst of all trade deals [. . .] with China.”

“[Dumping] steel is a big problem,” Trump went on to say, “and I'm stopping it.”

In related news, the South China Morning Post quoted remarks made by Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai while attending an event in the US on July 13. “More recently, there are some troubling developments on the issues that concern China’s vital interests and the issues that concern the critical foundation of our relations,” Cui said. The newspaper explained that the remarks came while Trump is considering placing sanctions on Chinese steel, quoting Cui as even mentioning the possibility of US-China relations being “derailed.”

By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

button that move to original korean article (클릭시 원문으로 이동하는 버튼)

Most viewed articles