Former President Donald Trump, the leading U.S. Republican presidential candidate, announced on the 18th (local time) that if he wins the 2024 presidential election, he will immediately abolish the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), a U.S.-led economic cooperation organization in which Korea and other countries participate. As former President Trump announced plans to cancel IPEF following the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which provides subsidies to domestic electric vehicle battery companies, there are concerns that the trade war could spread throughout Asia if former President Trump is re-elected.
At a campaign rally in Fort Dodge, Iowa, former President Trump said, “The Joe Biden administration is plotting to revive one of the worst deals, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which I canceled.” said. He continued, “‘Crooked Joe (President Biden)’ is back with the second TPP. “This is worse than the first TPP agreement, which tripled outsourcing to Asia.” At the same time, he said, “Under the next administration, TPP Part 2 will die from day one.” Immediately after taking office in January 2017, former President Trump declared his withdrawal from TPP, a multilateral free trade agreement between 12 Asia-Pacific countries, including the United States and Japan, saying it was against the rights and interests of U.S. workers.
Part 2 of the TPP mentioned by former President Trump appears to have pointed to IPEF. IPEF is an economic cooperation organization in which 14 countries, including Korea, participated last year under the leadership of the Biden administration as China strengthened its influence in the Asian economy following the United States’ withdrawal from TPP. Among the four major agendas, IPEF declared agreements in two areas, including the clean economy and fair economy, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit that closed the day before, following the supply chain.
However, in the trade area, the agreement collapsed right before the conclusion as the U.S. Congress demanded stronger environmental and labor standards. As the United States holds a presidential election next year, there are predictions that it will be difficult to agree on a trade agreement, the last piece of the IPEF puzzle, and due to former President Trump’s pledge to cancel the IPEF, IPEF may face a situation where it will be scrapped before it can be fully operational.
Former President Trump has already pledged to abolish the IRA and introduce a 10% universal basic tariff. Accordingly, there are concerns that if Trump’s second term in office becomes a reality, aggressive trade policies may continue toward not only China but also Asian countries such as Korea, which has a large surplus with the United States.
Former President Trump said at a rally that day, “We will pass the ‘Trump Trade Act’ to protect American farmers,” and “If China or other countries impose 100%, 200%, or 300% tariffs, we will also pay the same taxes to them.” “It is,” he claimed. He went on to say, “The reason China’s economy is not doing well is because of the tariffs I imposed. (During my first term in power) I imposed tariffs of 50 to 100 percent, but China was lucky,” suggesting the imposition of unprecedentedly high tariffs.
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.