Korea could face challenges amid U.S.-China trade conflict

미중 무역전쟁…우리나라 수출 불똥튀나 The intensifying trade spat between Washington and Beijing has countries around the world on the edge of their seats. Many are fearful of the repercussions, if the tit for tat between the two economic superpowers escalates into a full-blown trade war. Cha Sang-mi gauges the potential impact of such a scenario on the Korean economy. The first volley came a month ago, on March 9th, when President Trump imposed steep tariffs of 25 percent on Chinese steel and 10 percent on aluminum. On March 22nd, Trump signed an executive memorandum proposing 60-billion-U.S.-dollars worth of retaliatory tariffs against China for its alledged theft of American intellectual property. In the first week of April, Beijing hit back,... imposing 25-percent duties on eight American goods, including pork and recycled aluminum -- tariffs in total worth 3 billion dollars. Just a day later, Trump unveiled a list of 13-hundred Chinese goods that would be subject to 25-percent tariffs -- focused on the Chinese aerospace, tech and medical industries. And the next day, Beijing responded with an equal 25-percent tariff on one-hundred-and-6 categories of American goods, including soybeans, cars and chemicals, worth 50-billion U.S. dollars. In the meantime, South Korea is worried about getting caught in the crossfire. The Korea International Trade Association estimates that if the trade war expands to include the European Union, global trade volume could fall by 6 percent. That could mean a drop in exports for Korea of 6-point-4 percent,... a loss of nearly 3-hundred-and-70 billion dollars. On the China side, Korea's exports already face a decline. "Mainly this is because a lot of what Korea sells to China, its largest trading partner, is actually intermediate parts that are used for products used in China and also for Chinese exports to other countries, including the United States." According to KITA, Korea's shipments of intermediate goods account for over 70 percent of all its exports to China. "There will be direct damage done to Korean companies based in China, as well as indirect damage to Korean businesses that export to the U.S. through China." While experts say the Korean government should keep its options open and look to other countries for its exports, the hope is that tensions ease... and that things don't escalate to a point that hurts global economic growth. Cha Sang-mi, Arirang News. Arirang News Facebook:   / arirangtvnews   ------------------------------------------------------------ [Subscribe Arirang Official YouTube] ARIRANG TV:    / arirang   ARIRANG RADIO:    / music180arirang   ARIRANG NEWS:    / arirangnews   ARIRANG K-POP:    / arirangworld   ARIRANG ISSUE:    / arirangtoday   ARIRANG CULTURE:    / arirangkorean   ARIRANG FOOD & TRAVEL :    / arirangfoodtravel   ------------------------------------------------------------ [Visit Arirang TV Official Pages] Facebook:   / arirangtv   Twitter:   / arirangworld   Instagram:   / arirangworld   Homepage: http://www.arirang.com ------------------------------------------------------------ [Arirang K-Pop] YouTube:    / arirangworld   Facebook:   / arirangkpop   Google+: http://plus.google.com/+arirangworld