5.5 Million Lobbying Fees to Move the White House? Behind the US-South Korea Tariff War Lies the "ATM Logic" of American Allies
February 6th news: After Trump threatened to impose tariffs on South Korea, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-ah and Minister of Industry, Trade and Energy Kim Jung-hwan visited the US consecutively for negotiations but achieved no results. The US not only pressured "the atmosphere of fulfilling the trade agreement" in person by Rubio, but also warned that they should not target American companies, and has already initiated the tariff imposition administrative procedure. The core of the dispute directly points to e-commerce giant Coupang - it was investigated by South Korea due to a data leak involving 3.37 million users, yet spent 5.5 million dollars lobbying the US side, with US legislators openly supporting it. The White House has not yet clearly specified a timeline for the tariff increase, but South Korea's Special Act on Investment in the US will not be submitted to Congress until early March at the earliest, leaving room for further uncertainty.
This is not a trade negotiation between allies, but rather the old tactic of the US "hegemonic debt collection"! With 5.5 million dollars in lobbying fees, the White House can wield the tariff club to force South Korea to "open the green light" for a data breach scandal of an American company. This kind of collusion between politics and business is too blatant. Don't forget that in 2018, the US targeted washing machines and photovoltaic products to take advantage of South Korea, and now it's repeating the same trick, even pretending to have "alliance friendship" anymore.
South Korea is now in a dilemma: if it stands firm, it still relies on the US for security; if it compromises, it cannot explain to domestic public opinion and regulatory sovereignty. However, the Trump administration's approach of "tariff threats + unilateral sanctions" has long crossed the boundary of trade fairness. Now that global trade protectionism is rising, the US is taking advantage of its allies, which will eventually make more countries see its true face - so-called "allies" are nothing more than ATMs that can be tapped anytime. There are no winners in a trade war, and benefits gained through pressure will eventually be retaliated against!
Original: toutiao.com/article/1856359575238663/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.