South Korean economist Yoon Heo on Thursday advised against using “logical persuasion” in ongoing tariff negotiations with the administration of US President Donald Trump, saying that emotional appeals — particularly those invoking his “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) slogan — would be a more effective strategy.
Speaking at a seminar in Taipei hosted by the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, Heo, a professor of international trade at Sogang University, shared insights from South Korea’s ongoing trade negotiations with the Trump administration.
Heo, a chief trade and economic security adviser for South Korea, said Seoul employed a tactic to rebrand and repackage its past, present and future investment plans in the US, emphasizing that the US was already the top destination for South Korean outbound investment in 2023.
Photo: Reuters
During the negotiations, the South Korean delegation introduced a proposal called “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again,” aimed at revitalizing US shipbuilding, Heo said, adding that Trump reportedly responded very positively to the proposal.
The plan involved building shipyards, training shipbuilders and repairing US Navy vessels — measures that would help the US counter China’s rapidly expanding naval capabilities, Reuters reported.
Heo said that logical persuasion “would not have worked” with Trump.
Before a South Korean delegation met with the US president, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick reportedly warned them not to mention the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement, as South Korea’s large trade surplus would only anger Trump.
Heo suggested that Taiwan’s negotiators could adopt a similar approach.
“You say: ‘We want to contribute to your MAGA project. We want to contribute to rebuilding the United States, but we need you to help us persuade our domestic constituents,’” he said.
Former representative to the EU and Belgium Roy Lee (李淳) said: “We are negotiating with a friend, not an enemy — and that’s even more difficult.”
Lee said the US is not just any friend, but a “super big friend” that is probably Taiwan’s only security provider — a fact that Washington has repeatedly emphasized during the ongoing tariff talks.
He added that the US is also an essential partner in Taiwan’s supply chains, technology development and talent training.
Therefore, Taiwan has little choice but to agree to “most of Washington’s demands,” while seeking ways to make up for any perceived harm caused to the US, Lee said.
“The key is really how you communicate and create consensus within Taiwan,” he said.
Noting that South Korea put almost its entire domestic market on the table in its negotiations for a free-trade agreement with the US 15 years ago, Lee asked: “Is Taiwan ready to do that?”
“We want to have free trade, but we don’t want to open up... We can’t have it both ways,” he said.
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