News analysis
Why Japan and South Korea are on different paths in the latest US trade salvo
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holding up a trade letter sent to Japan during a news conference on July 7.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
- Trump criticised Japan and South Korea for "unsustainable trade deficits", threatening US national security with tariffs, prompting different reactions.
- South Korea aims for a deal to let Trump declare a win for American workers, safeguarding their interests by leveraging industrial strengths.
- Japan should maintain negotiations and communication but avoid accepting bad terms. Reduce US market reliance, bolstering economic security.
AI generated
TOKYO/SEOUL – Japan looks set to dig in its heels while South Korea will fire up the thrusters in trade talks, following US President Donald Trump’s July 7 decision to impose a 25 per cent “reciprocal” tariff on both countries from August.
The markedly different reactions to Mr Trump’s salvo – a template letter censuring the two US security allies for threatening America’s national security with their “unsustainable trade deficits” – come as Japan gears up for a precarious July 20 Upper House election while South Korea is, comparatively, a political oasis after the June 3 presidential election.