President Donald Trump New tariff chartHe announced the figures at Rose Garden on Wednesday, which included surprising and predictable countries. one China’s high tariffs? Not surprising. But among the top ten countries on his rankings, 8 are in Asia.
Many closed U.S. allies like South Korea and Japan were shocked by the sharp increase in exports.
As these American allies have increased their tariffs on them sharply, they are not completely caught. A few days before Trump announced the announcement, Trade ministers from Japan, China and South Korea meet in Seoul The first discussion of coordinated responses in five years.
Mike Bird is Wall Street Editor for The Economist and a former Asian journalist Today, I explainedHow Noel King’s allies in Asia deal with tariffs and how China is expected to lead a new alliance on the mainland. Click the link below to listen to the entire conversation. Below are edited transcripts for length and clarity.
We have China, Taiwan, Japan, India, South Korea, Thailand. What do we hear from the leaders of these countries today? Is there anything worth noting?
There are a lot of reactions, and I think this reflects the differences in relations with the United States and some different strategies.
Therefore, the Chinese government’s response should be noted that tariffs are deeply unreasonable, an attack on the rest of the world, which is probably the most surprising. I think it’s more interesting to break down countries closer to the U.S. Foreign Affairs Department. So Taiwan calls Trump’s tariffs “Unreasonable depth” and “very regretful. “South Korea said they are studying what is going on.
However, many of these countries are more cautious and quieter, precisely because they have a very close security relationship with the United States and they are very, very keen to not bother DC.
So, when Trump sticks to his chart, Vietnam, Vietnam imposes a 90% tariff on goods from the United States. South Korea, tariffs are 50%. Donald Trump said these countries impose tariffs on U.S. goods and I will address the issue. Is he? If so, why do you need to do it?
Therefore, it can be clear that we should first talk about trade restrictions on the United States by other countries. In some cases, they are steeper than the other direction. This is a reasonable thing for our decision makers.
However, after the announcement, it was clear that the figures used were not derived from any meaningful measures, such as Vietnam’s tariffs on U.S. goods. It has nothing to do with this data. What seems to have happened is reverse engineered through the trade deficits and surpluses that various countries have encountered with the United States.
Basically, they occupied Vietnam’s trade surplus with the United States and divided it into figures for Vietnam’s exports to the United States. This is an Excel spreadsheet job. It has almost nothing to do with how these countries restrict U.S. trade. It is a very strange measure to use to determine which countries are hit hardest.
Trump has put high tariffs on Japan and South Korea. Do you think this move forces them to rethink how to deal with the United States?
I think that will change attitude. One thing the U.S. government has tried to do a lot over the past few years is getting cooperation from the Japanese and South Korean governments, especially on things like export controls on Chinese semiconductors. If you have really steep tariffs, it will be difficult to enforce.
I read over the weekend that Japan, South Korea and China talk about trade for the first time in about five years. We know what happened to such a meeting? Will such a meeting make the United States nervous?
The issue of closer trilateral cooperation between China, South Korea and Japan has been going on for a long time, and to some extent, this is often frustrating for these three countries, usually at any given time, anyone will be frustrated by others. Whether it’s Japan and South Korea – their relationship is very difficult – or South Korea and China, whether it’s Japan and China, there’s usually someone who is upset about something and limits the triangular cooperation.
There has been a discussion of potential Japan, South Korea, China Free Trade Zones, and it has never really been achieved. Now, if you want to achieve it, then what you want is the common external threats in all of these countries.
Um.
I’m not sure if this nature will be a trade deal, but if I want to force a person, these are exactly what I’m trying to do.
If China becomes a more trusted trading partner of the United States than the United States is now, what is that? What is the long-term impact of this on China?
One thing that the Chinese government has really struggled in the past is for good reason, even in Asia, they don’t have many natural allies or friends. I think the United States has seriously damaged its relationships in the region and it really makes things easier.
If you listen to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, they will tell you, and they have been doing it for decades, the United States is a country that bullies smaller countries – about these noble ideals of freedom, democracy and human rights, it will involve a high and powerful game, but in reality it is just looking for itself. I think these tariffs make this argument easier to put forward in most parts of Asia. This is a huge opportunity for them. If you are a Chinese diplomat, you cannot draft these conditions better.
