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Will Seoul get a worse deal than Tokyo?
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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.

Apr 18, 2025
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Will Seoul get a worse deal than Tokyo?
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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.

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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…

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