China, Japan, and South Korea to coordinate response to US tariffs - Media
Photo: Donald Trump, President of the United States (Getty Images)
China, Japan, and South Korea have agreed to respond jointly to the US tariffs that will be announced this week, according to CNN and Reuters.
The comments came after the three Asian countries held economic talks for the first time in five years on Sunday, promising to support fair trade and strengthen economic ties between themselves. This occurred just days before the US was set to announce tariffs for all trading partners.
Reuters, citing a user on Weibo, reports that Japan and South Korea are eager to import semiconductor raw materials from China, while China is interested in purchasing microchips from Japan and South Korea.
The agency notes that Beijing, Seoul, and Tokyo are major trading partners of the US, although there are disagreements between them on several issues, including territorial disputes and Japan's discharge of water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Trump announced that he would introduce large-scale tariffs matching those imposed by foreign countries on the US. He also noted that allies such as South Korea would not be exempt.
“South Korea’s average tariff is four times higher,” Trump said earlier this month in his joint address to Congress. “Think of that: four times higher. And we give so much help militarily and in so many other ways to South Korea, but that’s what happens,” Trump said in early March during a speech in Congress.
In addition, he renewed trade tensions with China by imposing a 20% tariff on the country, in addition to those imposed during his first presidential term. However, China quickly responded by introducing a 15% tariff on imports of chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton from the US.
