[Weekly Focus] Trump targets..
Written : 2025-03-08 12:00:00 KST
[Weekly Focus] Trump targets S. Korea during speech to Congress over tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump made his first speech to Congress since returning to power with topics ranging from global tariffs to Ukraine. He also portrayed South Korea as a country with "unfair trade practices." For more details on this, we have our defense correspondent Kim Bo-kyoung. Welcome. Thanks for having me.
1. So Bo-kyoung, First of all, U.S. President Donald Trump targeted some countries over what he called "unfair trade practices" this week, and the list included South Korea.
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portray (그림·글로) 그리다[묘사하다] (=depict)
unfair trade practices 불공평한 무역관행
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Walk us through his remarks. Sure, Dami. Trump claimed that South Korea imposes higher tariffs on U.S. products than Washington does, even though the U.S. helps Seoul so much militarily and in so many other ways. He did mention other countries on Tuesday, as well, regarding such "unfair trade practices, " saying India charges the U.S. auto tariffs higher than one hundred percent, and that China's average tariff on American products is twice what the U.S. charges China. He then mentioned South Korea. "South Korea's average tariff is four times higher. Think of that four times higher. And we give so much help militarily and in so many other ways to South Korea." His words, of course, added to growing concerns that Trump's new administration could take trade action against South Korea, including his plan to impose a 25-percent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports on March 12th, and reciprocal tariffs which are set to take effect from April 2nd.
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walk somebody through something
~ 에게 ~을 보여주다(단계별로 차례차례)
reciprocal tariffs 상호 관세
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2. Trump, however, did not give specific evidence for his assertion, right? Is it really true that South Korea's average tariff is four times higher than the U.S.'? No, Mr. Trump was wrong and South Korea's trade ministry was quick to rebut this. According to the trade ministry, Washington and Seoul have eliminated tariffs on most goods, under the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement that took effect in 2012, putting the average tariff rate on imports from the U.S. to Korea at point seven-nine percent in 2024. This rate is set to drop further this year in accordance with an annual tariff reduction plan stipulated in the agreement. In reference, the ministry added that the tariff on imported manufactured goods from the U.S. is zero percent.
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rebut[rɪˈbʌt] 논박[반박]하다 (=refute)
trade ministry 무역부 장관
at point seven-nine percent 0.79 퍼센트
stipulated 규정된
in reference 참고로
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In terms of what Trump said, the ministry assumed he would have been referring to Korea's most favored nation treatment tariff which stood at 13-point-4-percent in 2024, which is four times that of the U.S.'s 3-point-3-percent. But this rate, applies to WTO member countries without bilateral agreements, and thus is not applied to goods imported from the U.S. Though Trump's words had no grounds, it seems clear he is considering trade relations between the two countries as an "uneven playing field." Many experts say he was trying to argue that Seoul has been enjoying a trade surplus against Washington. Of course, thanks to the tariff elimination effects of the FTA, South Korea's trade surplus with the U.S. has grown at an average annual rate of 27-point-5-percent over the past three years, reaching a record high of 55-point-7 billion U.S. dollars, which is around 81 trillion Korean won last year.
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in terms of something ~ 면에서는[~에 관해서는]
grounds 근거
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But one expert pointed out that the U.S. should not only look at the trade surplus. Tami Overby, a Senior Advisor in the East Asia & Pacific practice of Dentons Global Advisors-Albright had said in an interview with local media, that South Korean companies have significantly boosted foreign direct investment in the U.S. She added the surplus could have risen as South Korean companies expanded their manufacturing facilities in the U.S. for semiconductors, autos, batteries, and solar panels, the export of intermediate goods to these factories has also increased.
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intermediate goods 생산재.
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I see. Now, while mentioning Korea's tariffs, Trump also mentioned the LNG project in Alaska and his plans to revive the U.S. shipbuilding industry as leverage. First, what is the LNG project in Alaska? This project has an estimated value of around 44 billion U.S. dollars, and it basically aims to build a nearly 13-hundred-kilometer pipeline to transport the natural gas, traversing Alaska -from North to the South. Natural gas would then be cooled to a liquid state,. and be exported to major LNG importers such as Japan and South Korea. It has long been delayed, due to environmental concerns, and its enormous cost but now Trump is pushing it again, with investment from major importers in mind.
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traverse [trəˈvɚs] 가로지르다, 횡단하다
in mind 염두에 두다
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Listen to this. "My administration is also working on a gigantic natural gas pipeline in Alaska, among the largest in the world, where Japan, South Korea and other nations want to be our partner, with investments of trillions of dollars each." Trump is basically using the project as a bargaining chip for South Korea, amid mounting pressure over Trump's new tariff plan. Japan was quick to respond, as Tokyo and Washington have reportedly been discussing forming a joint venture for the project, including during a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump last month. South Korea is keeping an eye on the project as well. Minister Ahn Deok-geun recently visited the U.S., where he agreed to operate a working-level consultative body in five areas, including the Alaska project. According to Ahn, because the project looks like being a high priority for the U.S., Seoul could be interested in participating.
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bargaining chip 협상 카드
joint venture 합작투자(사업)
consultative body 자문기구
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That could alleviate U.S. concerns by increasing imports of liquefied natural gas to Korea, and reducing the trade surplus with Washington. Among the five areas, shipbuilding was included too. You are absolutely right. The shipbuilding industry is also one valuable negotiating tool that South Korea could use to help ease trade pressure, as Trump vowed to "resurrect" the industry. He is planning to offer special tax incentives to boost the industry in the country especially amid Washington's concerns over China's expanding warships and South Korea is emerging as a key player. We will have to wait and see how the two countries boost cooperative ties in this area. Alright, thank you Bo-kyoung for this. We appreciate it. Thank you.
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resurrect [ˌrezəˈrekt ] 소생[부활]시키다
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영어 원문 출처 및 동영상 링크;
arirang news/ Nat'l/Politics
https://m.arirang.com/news/view/?id=281346
https://m.arirang.com/news/view/?id=281346
