Washington Post Cites Internal U.S. Government Documents
Increase from Last Year's 2.6%... Also Sought Higher Defense Cost-Sharing
Demanded Statement Supporting "Strategic Flexibility of U.S. Forces Korea" to Deter China
U.S. media have reported that the Donald Trump administration sought to demand that South Korea increase its defense spending to 3.8% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during the U.S.-South Korea trade negotiations concluded at the end of last month.
The Washington Post (WP) reported on August 9 (local time), citing internal U.S. government documents it obtained, that the Trump administration attempted to use tariffs to extract diplomatic, security, and political concessions from other countries. The article introduced this case as an example.
According to the "initial draft of the U.S.-South Korea agreement" reported by WP, the United States wanted South Korea to raise its defense spending from 2.6% of GDP, which was the level as of last year, to 3.8%. The U.S. also sought an increase in South Korea's share of defense cost-sharing (the portion of the cost of stationing U.S. forces in Korea that South Korea covers).
Additionally, the draft included a requirement that South Korea issue a political statement supporting the flexibility of the U.S. Forces Korea posture, in order to better deter China while continuing deterrence against North Korea.
These demands were raised by various U.S. government departments in preparation for the U.S.-South Korea trade negotiations.
It has not yet been confirmed whether the U.S. actually made these demands during the U.S.-South Korea tariff negotiations. Security issues such as these were not included in the joint announcements regarding the trade agreement made by the two countries at the end of last month.
However, if the report is accurate, it reveals the Trump administration's position to some extent, regardless of whether these demands were already made to South Korea.
Accordingly, there is speculation that the U.S. may further clarify its demands for increased South Korean defense spending and support for strategic flexibility during the U.S.-South Korea summit expected to be held in Washington, D.C. later this month.
In the case of "defense spending at 3.8% of GDP," this is lower than the "5% of GDP" that the Trump administration demanded and secured as a commitment from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies.
However, NATO member states have agreed to reach this target by 2035. Since it remains unclear what the target deadline is for South Korea to meet the increased defense spending, it is difficult to conclude that the U.S. demand for South Korea is lower than that for NATO.
Alongside this, WP introduced several cases in which the U.S., during negotiations with countries other than South Korea, attempted to use tariffs as leverage to advance its own interests across both security and economic domains, including countering China and postponing the application of regulations affecting U.S. companies.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
