Trump Gets First Major Trade Deal, as South Korea Looks to Avoid Tariffs

I see the wrong wing has arrived in droves here to praise their (certainly not my) "president" for this pact—a good confirmation that something's horribly wrong with it and worth distracting from with "populist" shouts. (Or maybe it's just that the word "Stormy" still sends chills down their spines.) The real question, though, is what it has about copyright and other so-called "intellectual property", and ISDS and anti-internet terms: if it simply borrows the same such language of the vile TPP, then he not only isolated the US but hobbled it with an even worse pact, if that's possible. At least the NYT mentioned the vile TPP's such terms in passing when its signatories sealed the deal (and their people's fate); if this pact has such, they're not even given a mention. The people of ROK have had enough anti-speech law to worry about what with the Korean War, to get even more with a corporate "trade" pact, and I shudder when I think of how "covfefe" can out-vile the TPP.

9:29 PDT. Fifty comments so far. And I'm going to do something I rail against others about on these posts and comments sections - mock. Yes, mock. Fifty comments, by fifty experts, espousing fifty theories, fifty lines of reasoning, fifty lines of logic and fifty solutions. Stop wasting your time. Here's the solution - when someone else is taking advantage of you, i.e. trade imbalance, and it's costing jobs and money, you need to put a stop to it. Period. Sorry, folks, if prices go up on your cheaply made imported goods you'll just have to pay more, that's all. You may even have to get a full time job to do so ! So sad :(

This tariff/quota one-two punch is a signal victory for all Americans; it's benefits to all of us will match those we enjoyed under President Nixon's price controls. It is unfortunate, however, that we were unable to compel them to include a guaranteed minimum level of US automobiles imports.

The trade deficit with S. Korea is quite misleading. Samsung sells chips to Apples but the dollar amount is not included in the deficit with US. Instead, China was counted as the exporting nation of iPhone but the real profits which China can make from iPhones are a few dollars. Somehow, everybody is talking about some unreal artificial numbers. How could sophisticated people become so clueless?! It is just beyond me. Of course China is not innocent so the narrative is not completely unfair. In fact, I think China is quite stupid. Polluting environment, abuse labors and build up huge debt for what? Solar panels, cement, steel and aluminum are all becoming commodity. Every country can make them if they are willing to take the risks. The whole concept of division of labors and global economy are distorted by the stupid behavior of China. Sad!

This is virtue signaling! Just like the gun control advocates, who know their simple solution will do nothing to reduce gun violence or school shootings, yet advocate for gun control, signaling their "virtue" to other progressives. Trump knows this does nothing for steel towns, yet will do it to signal to his constituency.

"In a statement published on Monday, the South Korean Trade Ministry said it had agreed to adhere to a quota of 2.68 million tons of steel exports to the United States a year, which it said was roughly equivalent to 70 percent of its annual average sale to the United States from 2015 to 2017." So does this mean that Canada will make up the remaining 30%? Clearly it can, because Canada has won a reprieve from the tariff. That is, for Trump people, a company in the U.S. that bought steel from the ROK might find a diminished supply of that steel, so it could turn to Canada to make up the deficit.

Anyone who thinks this trade agreement will result in significantly higher car exports to South Korea has not spent much time in Korea. Koreans love imported cars. But they favor luxury names like BMW, Audi or Mercedes Benz. American cars simply do not represent luxury to the average Korean consumer. Exempting US cars from Korea's national safety standards will be seen as further evidence of the inferiority of US cars. In addition, GM recently announced the closure of one of its manufacturing plants in Korea, raising suspicions in Korea about its future intentions.

The existing trade deal with Korea was a bad deal for American workers from the outset, notwithstanding President Obama's laughable prediction in 2010 that it would create 70,000 new jobs in the U.S. Since 2011, when the United States signed the free-trade agreement with South Korea, U.S. exports to Korea have fallen, U.S. imports have risen 80 percent, and we ran a $23 billion trade deficit in 2017. Peter Morici, chief economist in the early Clinton years at the U.S. International Trade Commission, says the Korean deal alone, and the import surge that followed, cost America 100,000 jobs. Giving credit to Trump might be a bone in the throat to this publication, but in this case, it is justified.

The Times did its readers a disservice by downplaying the most significant aspect of the South Korean trade agreement. It was not that the US granted an exemption from steel import tariffs. The Times seems to think that the purpose of the tariff was to raise money for the government. It was not. The purpose of the agreement was to protect and increase the number of jobs in the American steel industry by increasing the market for US made steel. The key agreement to limit the South Koreans to 70% of what they recently imported does just this. To the extent that all of our trade partners agree to similar deals, that expands the existing market for domestically produced steel by the same amount that our partners give up.

It is interesting that American has gained an increased exemption for the export of cars to South Korea that do not meet South Korea’s safety standards. On the surface, this seems like a startling concession for America to need to be seeking. However it appears that that the new Ford Mustang muscle car is exceptionally dangerous as was recently reported in Australia. Quoting http://www.ancap.com.au/media-and-gallery/releases/ford-mustang-scores-c... Leading independent vehicle safety advocate, the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), today released a much anticipated safety rating for the high-selling and iconic sports car, the Ford Mustang. The Ford Mustang scored a 2 star ANCAP safety rating. “This result is simply shocking for such a newly designed and popular model,” said ANCAP Chief Executive Officer, Mr James Goodwin. End Quote. Recent reports in the NY Times also have US automakers trying desperately to undo new fuel efficiency standards imposed during the Obama era despite a growing demand from global consumers for safe fuel efficient automobiles. How Stone Age can you be ? Anyhow, it’s clearly just another way that American muscle is dumb, poorly designed and dangerous.

The technical term for this type of "negotiation" is extortion.

I expected the negotiation to be more assertive. This gives precedence to other countries to find a way out of the global tariff on steel and aluminum. From my observation, South Koreans here in the states generally take a nationalistic stance among the vehicles they purchase by driving Hyundai and Kia. I can only image their kinfolk doing the same overseas. I could be wrong, but pushing the big three into Seoul doesn't sound like a good long term plan.

This deal has more publicity value than substance. Korea absolutely needs the American market to survive and has zero leverage, especially given the geo-political situation that they are in. So Trump twisted their arm to extract what? 20 year delay on tariff phase-out of Korean pickup trucks that does not even exist. Plus lose changes on non-conforming American cars, etc. China will be entirely different story. The US has much more to lose and Chinese can twist arms equally. They could even demand to settle the matter by joining TPP together with US. The Chinese deal will be the real litmus test. And EU? I have no idea what Trump is planning. Maybe he'll let them go without any deal. They are white, after all.

I consider myself a liberal democrat. However, issues like this give me pause. How is the US expected to provide vastly expensive global security through our military for allies such as South Korea as well as open markets in the US mainland for their products when South Korea still has trade barriers and protections that prevent open markets to our American made products? This is so unfair and is a great example of how lopsided free trade really is for the US. Protectionist measures are frequently upheld by US international trade partners yet we are expected to have open markets domestically. This exacerbates our growing trade imbalance. Political candidates on the left should do a better job of articulating the real benefits of free trade and also advocating for ACTUAL free trade for American made goods & services. Our current trade agreements are very lopsided and should be renegotiated without the antiquated protectionism of tariffs. Glad to hear that South Korea is opening its markets somewhat. Wish other counties (China) would open their markets to allow actual free trade. Also wish someone on the left was talking about these issues in a sensible manner.

The Democrats are terrified of Trump being successful on trade and bringing back American jobs. His policies of putting Americans first will do more to damage the Left's agenda than anything they every imagined. No more can they lie about how Republicans hate minorities, when they,in fact, will be one of the greatest benefactors. With a growing economy, lower taxes, better outcomes in public education, the Left's past lies will come back to haunt them.

Great! This should crimp Korean re-export of lower value added products that are made from dumped Chinese coil. It will likely hit exactly the intended target, China. Well done DofC and the Administration. And it will be, like the 1984 quotas, likely a pattern deal allowing a quick resolution of the uncertainty over trade that we are now dealing with.

No, South Korea, it is short-sighted to cede power to power in expectation it to be more reasonable. You have been exposed for the dependent you are. Dependents don't get to be adults; they're told what to do. Excepting one nation, I am a great supporter of Asia's rise: I think the world needs the balance; but, you can't be a part of that balance AND a ballast for America: "South Korea First!" You're in Asia: Turn toward China. The West will never accept you as equals; never: No surgery; no degree; no accomplishment or contribution will ever cause you to not be singled out and thought of differently. Grow where you are planted. Further advance your part of the world. Protect yourselves.

Good, so now all the never ever impose a tariff people will acknowledge that sometimes it is necessary to make good on the biggest threat we have when it comes to international trade in order to get other countries to take us seriously? Unlikely, in fact I'm sure PK is already writing up an article about how this was going to happen anyway or will just ignore it altogether.

Sheer colonial arrogance that will never ever work: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/26/business/china-us-trade.html March 26, 2018 The Trade Issue That Most Divides U.S. and China on Trade Isn’t Tariffs By KEITH BRADSHER The real fight is over China’s financial support for its high-tech sector, which could help the country develop cutting-edge industries. Beijing says it will stand firm.

There is no win here for either Korea or the United States, as far as I can tell. The United States can use the WTO to settle trade disputes, and that is fair. Coercion is always lose-lose and President Trump is all about coercion rather than fair negotiation.

This is considered a win by Trump? Doesn't look like much of one. US is wimpy negotiator. US should have forced S.Korea to manufacture all vehicles sold in the US in the US. They should do the same with Japan. Asian countries play games. The fact that China is saying it wants to negotiate means nothing. As usual, they will stall for time. S. Korea and Japan should be charged for protection. Otherwise, US should withdraw. While US is wasting money on defense, Japan, S. Korea and Europe are raking it in like bandits, while always blaming the US. Japan is a particularly egregious example of this. It makes a lot of money with China while also shipping cars to the US. Japan has moved so much of its production to China that it only started giving raises to its employees this year. They've had stagflation for the past 20 years. These countries should move production to the US to make cars sold in the US.

50K cars can be exported without Korea's own safety requirements for all US manufacturers or for each of them? I thought it was about each US manufacturer. None has yet reached the existing ceiling of 25K cars, if I remember correctly. My guess is that Korean consumers will see this sort of concession with suspicion and rather prefer to buy cars that meet Korea's own safety requirements (a few examples of different requirements by the US and Korea would have been helpful in the article).

This could have been a lot worse, considering past rhetoric, but let’s be clear that This deal is not a win for US manufactuers who make things out of steel. Quotas can drive up the price of steel in the United States and create shortages even more easily than high tariffs. Korean exporters will like the quotas better than tariffs, because Korean exporters capture higher profits by selling into the high priced US market, whereas under the tariffs, the US Treasury gets he revenue. On the other hand US farmers will be happy that they won’t face Korean retaliation since, after all, Korea will have agreed to accept the tariffs.

"The deal appeared to be an early vindication of the White House’s efforts to use the penalties as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations." This is not a deal in the common sense of the word. It is extorsion. And the world is watching. When allies are treated this way, they may reconsider other aspects of their dealings with this administration. But then, Trump has this all figured out, because, as we all know, trade wars are good and easy to win. We'll see.

I would like to know how much of our imported steel comes from countries that have been given an exemption or have negotiated away tariffs. I would be interested on the effect left to our manufactuer's and workers. I have a feeling they will face the same marketplace they did before the White House made such a big deal of it all.

I have no trouble with the result, but why go through such a needlessly dangerous and tortuous process with a key ally?

Trump is the First American president who is knocking down barriers to American products in these countries by using Quid Pro Quo. GO, DONALD.

Appeasement will not go well for South Korea. Trump will take this only as a sign of weakness and demand more. He is not a reliable negotiating partner, he cares nothing for your interests. You would be better to negotiate a free trade agreement with Putin, at least he is likely to keep his word.

However much one dislikes Trump and his antics with porn stars and insults, this deal is good for America. Lets acknowledge the good and beat up the bad.