Will Seoul get a worse deal than Tokyo?

Trump likes to punch down and will need to pick the low-hanging fruit as criticisms of poorly thought out tariff strategies mount.

As Seoul prepares to engage with Trump for his trademark “package deal” tariff negotiations, there is growing concern that Japan will ultimately walk away with a better deal.

Package deals of course involve trade: including tariffs and items previously not included in negotiations, such as cultural protection of media content, phyto-sanitary regulations, nationally protected and cultivated industries, and national healthcare services; as well as investment and defense costs. All issues that tug at a nation’s sense of sovereignty and independence.

If Tokyo secures exemptions and walks away with more favorable terms while Korea is pressured into broader concessions, the outcome will be viewed not as hard-nosed diplomacy but as a calculated humiliation. Such a humiliation will provoke a backlash in South Korea, where perceptions of unfair treatment by Wash…