Oblivious 45 set to withdraw from S Korea trade deal as tensions with N Korea rise.

[Tanuki]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/wonk/wp/2017/09/02/trump-plans-withdrawal-from-south-korea-trade-deal/
"President Trump has instructed advisers to prepare to withdraw the United States from a free-trade agreement with South Korea, several people close to the process said, a move that would stoke economic tensions with the U.S. ally as both countries confront a crisis over North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

Withdrawing from the trade deal would back up Trump's promises to crack down on what he considers unfair trade competition from other countries, but his top national security and economic advisers are pushing him to abandon the plan, arguing it would hamper U.S. economic growth and strain ties with an important ally. Officials including national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and National Economic Council director Gary Cohn oppose withdrawal, said people familiar with the process who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal White House deliberations.
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Rolling back free-trade agreements was a top priority of some of the senior members of the Trump administration who have left in recent weeks, including former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon. Bannon often found himself outmaneuvered internally by Cohn and others who aligned with business groups to warn of the economic consequences of withdrawing from trade deals, but Trump's pursuit of terminating the South Korea deal appears to demonstrate the president's personal commitment to reverse U.S. policymakers' long-standing pursuit of free trade.
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South Korea is the sixth-largest goods trading partner with the United States, accounting for $112.2?billion in two-way trade last year, according to the U.S. trade representative. U.S. companies exported $42.3?billion in goods to South Korea and imported $69.9?billion in goods last year, leaving a trade deficit of $27.7?billion.
.......

Withdrawing from the deal could lead to a large increase on tariffs levied against products the United States imports from South Korea, such as electronics, cellphones and automobiles. South Korea would also immediately start charging very high tariffs on goods and services imported into its country. Chad Bown, who served as an economist in the White House during the Obama administration, said the tariff the U.S. government charges against many Korean imports would rise from 0?to 3.5?percent. The tariff South Korea charges against U.S. imports would rise from 0?to almost 14?percent, making it harder for U.S. companies to find buyers there."
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[virtualobserver]

1. Pretty soon Trump will be calling Kim Jong Un a strong leader who has done good things for N. Korea

[Iliyah]

2. Stupid does what stupid does