The U.S. Donald Trump administration sought to require Korea to increase its defense expenditure to 3.8% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during the negotiations on the Korea-U.S. trade agreement finalized at the end of last month.
The Washington Post (WP) reported on the 9th (local time) that the Trump administration used tariffs as leverage to secure concessions from other countries related to diplomacy, security, and politics, citing internal U.S. government documents it obtained.
According to the 'initial draft of the Korea-U.S. agreement' reported by WP, the U.S. wanted Korea to expand its defense expenditure from 2.6% of GDP last year to 3.8% and increase its burden-sharing contribution for the stationing costs of U.S. troops in Korea.
'3.8% of GDP' is lower than the '5% of GDP' that the Trump administration demanded and received promises from NATO allies. However, it is difficult to hastily conclude that the demand level is lower than NATO because it is unclear when the U.S. will set a deadline for its demands regarding Korea's increase in defense spending.
According to WP, one of the requirements posed to Korea was that Korea would announce a political statement supporting the flexibility of U.S. troops stationed in Korea (so-called strategic flexibility) to better manage the containment of China while continuing to deter North Korea.
This information raised questions about what the U.S. government departments proposed to Korea ahead of the Korea-U.S. trade negotiations, and it has not been confirmed whether the U.S. made such demands during the actual Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations.
The security issues were not included in the announcements made by both countries regarding the trade agreement at the end of last month. The Korean government stated that the issue of defense spending was not addressed during the process of reaching the Korea-U.S. trade agreement.
However, if the report is true, it can be assumed that regardless of whether the U.S. has already communicated its demands to Korea, the Trump administration wants Korea to publicly agree to increase defense expenditure by nearly 50% and support the 'strategic flexibility' of U.S. troops stationed in Korea.
There is also a possibility that the U.S. demands regarding Korea's increase in defense expenditure and support for strategic flexibility will be specified at the Korea-U.S. summit expected to be held in Washington, D.C., later this month.
Meanwhile, WP reported that the U.S. aimed to uphold its national interests across security and economics by using tariffs in negotiations with countries other than Korea to contain China and delay regulatory applications related to American corporations.
Under the direction of Jamieson Greer, the representative of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), opinions from various departments were gathered to draft an eight-page document titled 'Additional Negotiation Objectives' in May, which included plans to pressure Taiwan, India, and Indonesia to increase defense spending or expand purchases of U.S. military equipment.
Additionally, concerning the containment of China, the document included requests for U.S. naval visits to a naval base in Cambodia and to allow local training, as well as demands for the revocation of port ownership from a Chinese corporation in Israel.