Just days before Donald Trump’s self-proclaimed “reciprocal” tariffs on most countries, South Korea, Japan, and China held their first economic talks in six years.
The top trade officials of Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing all agreed to bolster cooperation in economy and trade and to speed up negotiations for a trilateral FTA.
However, just hours after the new tariffs kicked in, Trump announced a 90-day pause for Korea, Japan and most other countries. Meanwhile, he upped the stakes on China, which now faces a staggering tariff rate of 145%.
Negotiations for an FTA between the three countries have been on and off for more than a decade since they began in 2012. Around 16 rounds of official talks have taken place.
The three economies all rely heavily on similar export-driven manufacturing sectors, producing automobiles, semiconductors and steel, with overlapping interests, prompting concerns that deeper market tie-up could harm domestic industries.
Hurdles like Japan’s 2019 export controls on South Korea, China’s apparent economic retaliation in response to Korea’s deployment of the US THAAD missile defense system, and longstanding historical and territorial disputes are still derailing the cooperation.
“Existing bilateral deals such as the Korea-US FTA, and Korea and Japan’s alliances with Washington, as well as issues involving North Korea have also acted as constraints,” Park Inh-hwi, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University, admits.
Source: The Korea Herald
