U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One while flying from Palm Beach International Airport to Washington, Feb. 16. AFP
As the Lunar New Year holiday wrapped up on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration announced that Japan will finance three projects in the United States totaling $36 billion. These comprise the first part of the $550 billion investment pledge that Japan made in exchange for a reduced blanket tariff of 15 percent. The first project is a natural gas power plant in Ohio, which U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said would be the largest natural gas-fired generating facility in the United States. The other two are an oil export facility in Texas and an industrial diamond plant in Georgia.
This new development in Japan's investment deal stands in contrast to the pace of Korea's own pledged $350 billion investment in the United States. Korean exports have also been hit with a 15 percent tariff, lowered from 25 percent in exchange for the investment package, which would unfold over the years as annual installments of $20 billion. Already Trump has said he is not satisfied with Korea's pace in ratifying the special bill to support the investment plan, indicating that he may raise Korea's tariffs back up to 25 percent. If it had somehow escaped anyone's attention that tariffs remain the U.S. president's preferential tool in trade negotiations, Trump has made sure his message will not be forgotten or regarded lightly.
Trump reiterated this stance when announcing Japan's investments, writing on his social media account, "The scale of these projects are so large, and could not be done without one very special word, TARIFFS."
Since Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Korean imports back up to 25 percent, top Seoul officials have visited and met with their counterparts in Washington, and returned with a plea for the National Assembly to expedite the passage of the Special Act on Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Management. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and main opposition People Power Party (PPP) agreed to accelerate the act's ratification by forming a special bipartisan committee. However, events went awry, fueled by partisan fighting last week, when the majority-holding DPK pushed through judiciary reform bills for a plenary session vote, likely to be held on Feb. 24. The judiciary reform bills have received mixed reception, as Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae has openly opposed their contents, which include a clause enabling constitutional appeals for cases finalized by the Supreme Court. The PPP, taking issue with the DPK's move, halted the first bipartisan committee review for the U.S. investment bill.
The fact that the two parties remain in friction over issues such as the judiciary reform bills indicates that Korea's legislators may be too consumed with party agendas and the June local elections. It reflects a disconcertingly inward inclination of the lawmakers, who, while all smart individuals, invariably seem to fall in line with party politics once they enter the National Assembly. The legislators of today must have a parallel capacity for understanding the new global political and economic order, which is aligned with markets, resources and technology. At the very least, the government did manage to launch a committee to begin reviewing potential investments in the U.S. under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.
There is now just over a week left in the month of February. Even if a plenary session is convened on Feb. 24, the likelihood of addressing the special bill to undergird Korea's U.S. investment plans is uncertain. It is time for both parties to work together.
Source: Korea Times News
