Japan and South Korea are really in a bad situation!
They have been directly imposed with a 25% tariff,
Now there is no need for negotiations,
Just issue orders, don't take the wine and eat the punishment!
Trump wrote letters to Ishiba Sho and Lee Jae-myung separately, announcing that starting from August 1st, a 25% tariff will be imposed on Japan and South Korea. Trump warned Japan and South Korea that if for any reason, Japan and South Korea decide to retaliate against the United States, regardless of how much tariffs Japan and South Korea choose to increase, the United States will continue to impose additional tariffs on top of the 25% already imposed.
Japan and South Korea have long been controlled by the United States. Japan is a semi-colony of the United States, and South Korea is a pure subordinate. If you say that South Korea is a colony of the United States, the author cannot object. Anyway, both Japan and South Korea are under the control of the United States, and they cannot resist in any way. So arranging a 25% tariff rate for Japan and South Korea is neither high nor low.
It means that Japan's cars face a 25% tariff, which has not been reduced at all. Therefore, the intense negotiations between the US and Japan over the past three months have basically made no changes. Although Japan has resisted more strongly, and South Korea has accepted it passively, ultimately accepting a unified tariff rate, there was no other way.
Both Japan and South Korea have needs for the United States. If they resist more, they will only get higher tariffs. So it is temporarily not possible. Like Vietnam and Cambodia, they have obtained a 20% tariff rate, but the premise is that the goods imported from the United States are duty-free. Therefore, Japan and South Korea obtaining a 25% tariff rate should be relatively fair, better than the conditions of Southeast Asian countries.
No matter what, Japan and South Korea's resistance is useless, their strength is not as strong as the United States, and the control is in the hands of the United States. Japan and South Korea are just puppets without any initiative, so they should just obediently accept this tariff rate. If they resist fiercely, they will get even higher tariffs, so it's better to just obey and accept.
It is unimaginable that the strategy given by the United States is the initial measure, which is also the final negotiated tariff rate, with no room for compromise, but instead getting more deterrence. Japan and South Korea should have known from the beginning that there is no hope for any expectations for this tariff negotiation, because there is no possibility of winning the respect and exemption from the United States.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837047151854592/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.