"Master Negotiator Trump, Not Likely to Favor Tariff Suspension... Ultimately Means Imposing Them"

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U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 90-day suspension of reciprocal tariffs for South Korea and some other countries. In response, Park Jung-ho, a professor in the Department of Real Asset Investment Analysis at Myongji University, called President Trump a "master of negotiation" and pointed out, "The conclusion is that tariffs will be imposed at 10%, which is higher than the current rate, yet everyone cheers the suspension. This is not something to be happy about."

On the 10th, Professor Park told CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' that this is a "pattern identical to previous cases," interpreting it as "imposing a higher tariff rate than originally intended and then slightly reducing it to reassure the market." He added, "This time as well, they pressured all countries and then said, 'Okay, I will only impose a 10% reciprocal tariff.' As a result, stock prices will actually rise, and the exchange rate will stabilize somewhat."

The day before, the U.S. administration announced that it would temporarily suspend the implementation of reciprocal tariffs to secure time for negotiating trade agreements with countries requesting tariff reductions, and would apply only the previously enacted 10% baseline tariff for the time being. In South Korea's case, a 25% reciprocal tariff was scheduled to be applied, but according to this announcement, only a 10% tariff will be imposed for 90 days.

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Professor Park viewed the objectives of the Trump administration's tariff war as twofold: ▲containing China and ▲reducing national debt.

He explained, "The most important policy goal of Trump's second term is 'to catch China.' Even during Trump's first term, despite imposing massive tariffs on China and applying pressure, the trade deficit with China actually increased." He added, "From Trump's perspective, 'Pressuring China at the level done in the first term doesn't yield results. We need to be stronger and more forceful.' This is because defeating China is essential to maintaining the status as the world's number one hegemonic power."

He continued, "The U.S. is currently under severe pressure," stating, "Trump has to repay $8 trillion in U.S. national debt this year, which is 30% of the U.S. GDP." Professor Park said, "The U.S. needs money by any means, and to raise that money, they pulled out the tariff card. Since the debt to be repaid is so large, tariffs alone cannot solve the problem, so they are even considering selling the 'gold card.'" The 'gold card' refers to the current EB-5 investment immigration program, which grants permanent residency to foreigners who create jobs in the U.S. President Trump has announced that paying $5 million (approximately 730 million KRW) can secure U.S. permanent residency.

Regarding the future development of the U.S.-China tariff war, he predicted, "Even during this 90-day suspension, there will be many instances of sudden reversals within a day." Professor Park said, "When Hyundai Motor went to the U.S. and promised to invest 31 trillion KRW in front of Trump, Trump immediately said, 'You don't have to pay tariffs,' but then reversed his statement the next day and said they had to pay tariffs. It's violent."

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