{"id":2196352,"date":"2022-05-25T16:15:56","date_gmt":"2022-05-25T07:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/pro\/?p=2196352"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:12:21","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:12:21","slug":"south-korea-keeps-strategic-ambiguity-alive-by-joining-us-led-economic-framework","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/05\/south-korea-keeps-strategic-ambiguity-alive-by-joining-us-led-economic-framework\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea keeps strategic ambiguity alive by joining US-led economic framework"},"content":{"rendered":"
Leading up to the official launch of the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) on <\/span>May 23<\/span><\/a>, many were surprised at the level of enthusiasm that South Korea showed, as it previously eschewed U.S.-led trade groups and networks.<\/span><\/p>\n South Korea\u2019s Yoon Suk-yeol government apparently sees the IPEF as in the \u201c<\/span>national interest<\/span><\/a>,\u201d but the real appeal may be the ambiguity and toothlessness of the deal, which doesn\u2019t force Seoul\u2019s economic planners to commit to anything.<\/span><\/p>\n While the U.S. sees IPEF as a way to regain its footing in the regional economy after former President Donald Trump torpedoed the multilateral <\/span>Trans-Pacific Partnership<\/span><\/a> deal, the new framework is critically short of details, particularly when it comes to the perks of membership that set it apart from existing trade deals or institutions, such as tariff reductions or access to the U.S. market.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n