US Troop Withdrawal and Fair Burden Sharing... Trump Camp's 'American First' Strategy

Re-election City Predicts Expansion of USFK Reduction, Withdrawal, and Defense Cost-Sharing Pressure
Indicates Expansion of Anti-Immigration and Anti-China Policies

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. President Donald Trump has specified the return of overseas-deployed U.S. troops and fair cost-sharing by allies as key tasks if he wins re-election. Along with the possibility of reducing U.S. forces in South Korea upon Trump's re-election, pressure on South Korea to increase defense cost-sharing is expected to intensify.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the 23rd (local time), the Trump re-election campaign revealed the key tasks for President Trump's second term. The tasks include jobs, response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), ending dependence on China, healthcare, education, police protection, ending illegal immigration and protecting American workers, innovation for the future, along with a section titled 'America First Foreign Policy.'

The America First foreign policy specifically includes "ending endless wars and bringing troops home," "making allies pay their fair share," "maintaining and expanding an invincible military," "eliminating terrorists threatening America," and "building great cyber defense and missile defense systems."

Among these, the issues most closely related to South Korea?the return of troops and the expansion of defense cost-sharing by allies?were mentioned first, indicating a strong intention to focus more on these issues if re-elected.

With both South Korea and the U.S. unable to reach an agreement on the current defense cost-sharing negotiations, the likelihood of increased demands for cost-sharing from President Trump upon re-election has grown.

Regarding the cessation of wars and the return of overseas-deployed U.S. troops, the focus appears to be on conflict zones such as Afghanistan and the Middle East, but depending on circumstances, the reduction of U.S. forces in South Korea could also emerge as a possible option, raising concerns.

Since the U.S. has already decided to withdraw some troops from Germany, if the U.S. does not receive the level of burden it desires, it cannot be ruled out that the U.S. might pull out the card of reducing or withdrawing U.S. forces in South Korea at any time.

President Trump has declared that if re-elected, he will conclude denuclearization talks with North Korea as quickly as possible, and depending on the outcome of North Korea-U.S. negotiations, the issue of U.S. forces in South Korea could also be linked.

Compared to Democratic candidate Joe Biden, who has signaled a practical approach to North Korea if elected, President Trump's active stance on reaching a deal with North Korea is positive for the South Korean government, but there are concerns that the burden on the South Korean government will increase as a trade-off.

Additionally, the re-election key tasks include bringing back one million manufacturing jobs from China and holding China fully accountable for the global spread of COVID-19, which also suggests negative impacts on future U.S.-China relations.

This too could further complicate the position of the South Korean government, caught between U.S.-China relations.

Other key goals include issues that threaten the existing world order and could shake global affairs.

The clause on "establishing fair trade agreements that protect American jobs" also suggests that efforts to enforce America First policies in trade will continue.

The item "ending illegal immigration and protecting American workers" indicates that anti-immigration policies will be further strengthened in the second Trump administration. The "cleaning up the mess" section, which means eradicating corruption, includes "responding to international organizations that harm American citizens," signaling a potential expansion of conflicts with international organizations such as UNESCO, the World Trade Organization, and the World Health Organization, which occurred during the Trump administration.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.