Federal Government Policy and Business

Trump's Trade Plan Threatens to Derail Korean Security Talks

New York Times: President Trump’s plan to impose stiff steel tariffs would severely punish South Korea, a key diplomatic ally and a major exporter of the metal to the United States, at a moment when America is embarking on a series of high-stakes negotiations to defuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea has said that it is willing to begin talks with the United States about abandoning its nuclear weapons, officials from the South said Tuesday, opening the possibility for a breakthrough in one of the world’s most prolonged security stalemates.

If talks materialize, the United States will need the close partnership of South Korea. But in recent months, the Trump administration has alienated the South’s leaders by initiating a series of tough trade measures that seek to penalize the country for exporting more goods to the United States than it imports.

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