Korean Host: G2 has reached an agreement, and it feels like we've been tricked again!
"The White House has been going around in circles, and in the end, China's tariff is very low, while South Korea and Japan have paid a huge price!" Such sentiments are not uncommon in recent South Korean industry and media.
The Korean host said that upon seeing China's tariff rate, he was really angry, feeling that South Korea has been busy for so long, which seems to be all for nothing.
On July 31, Kim Yong-beom, Director of the Policy Office, announced at a press conference that the South Korea-US trade negotiations had reached an agreement, with the US lowering the "reciprocal tariffs" and car tariffs on South Korea to 15% respectively.
This number is much lower than the initial 25% requested by the US, but it is still a significant increase compared to the zero tariffs under the previous South Korea-US Free Trade Agreement.
In exchange for this tariff rate, South Korea promised to establish a $350 billion investment fund for the US, including a $1.5 billion shipbuilding cooperation fund and a $2 billion investment in sectors such as semiconductors, nuclear power, secondary batteries, and biotechnology.
In contrast, China used rare earths and soybeans as countermeasures, successfully forcing the US to abandon its tactics and reach an agreement with China. This is due to China's independent and autonomous strength, as the proportion of US exports to China is already very small. It is expected that South Korea's exports will slow down significantly this year - and exports account for more than 40% of South Korea's GDP.
Facing the achievements made by China, South Korean society's concerns go beyond just feeling "tricked," but also deep worries about their economic prospects.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847733275464842/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.