US President Donald Trump’s “mutual tariff”This applies this week, can be a “destructive effect” on global trade, and even leads to the collapse of some national economies, warning the chairman of the Asia Society and CEO CEO CEO Kong-Kang Kang. In this interview Hindu During the recent visit to India, Ms. Kong-who was the first woman External Affairs Minister (2017-2021) of South Korea, and earlier analyzed on Human affairs and human rights-Sri Trump’s Geopolitics, Gaza, and Ukraine There is even a bigger threat to the current global order. Part:
What will be the effect US President Donald Trump’s “mutual tariff”,
If the mutual tariff has threatened throughout the board, all over the world, to all countries, as expected, I think they will have an impact on global trade. You can reach a level in various business areas where the business itself collapses completely, and means that some national economies may collapse. For Countries like South KoreaWhere we do not have any natural resources, our economy is completely dependent on export-operated development. Hopefully there is a place in the announcement that creates exceptions or makes a place for discussions. If not, it will be destructive, and will almost stop the global trade system as we know.
Can China benefit from this step?
Well, I think everyone loses it, in the first effect. But China is a big economy And China, for many years, has been seeing what is coming from the United States, and tried to create its domestic potential. It has also tried to prepare itself for decuination by increasing self -reliance. Of course, the Chinese economy is not currently doing all this well: the consumer’s trust during the Kovid lockdown has reduced and has never been raised again, the property market has crashed, etc. If anything, there is anything innovation – companies like Dipsek (AI) and Huawei (Technology and EVS) have survived and survived against all obstacles.
It has been honored as the Asian century. What is your prediction for twenty -five years, its rest?
It is still a century of Asia’s rise, definitely moving towards Asia in global affairs. But this process has been quite disruptive, and when the existing orders are changing, there is always a disruptive element. Of course, the last moment of this quarterly century has been particularly disruptive, President Trump returned to the leadership of the United States. I think the last two months have seen such a hurry to the initiative coming from the White House, both on the economic front, and the most amazing part, the initiative on the geopolitical on the front and security front. The world is at a significant turn, enters a new type of geo -political order which is much more multi -polar. And I think this unfollowed Asian century, bilateral relations between China and India will be a specially fixed part to play in the century, going forward.
In a recent program with you, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar referred to Mr. Trump’s footsteps as a “paradigm change” for the US. How unexpected it was, and is it now irreversible?
I think the tariff agenda of the new American administration may be expected, as ‘Tariff’ is “the most beautiful words in the world” according to President Trump, even though the intensity of his declarations is amazing. Their approach is more surprising for the current geopolitical struggle challenges in Gaza and Ukraine. In Ukraine, the aggressive and put the victim into the same aircraft, and trying to interact with a peaceful, this may lead to some results in the short term, but in the long term, they are forcing other NATO countries to resume their safety calculations completely.
What does it mean American policy towards TaiwanTowards Taiwan’s safety in the event of conflict with China?
I think there are definitely China Hawks in new administration which are ready for any event in Straits. China is definitely building its military muscles, becoming increasingly aggressive in its practice around Taiwan. This understanding is that President Trump himself is more than a deal maker than a warmongar, and so the pressure he is putting on China, it seems, it seems, its purpose is a big deal with China.
In Indo-Pacific like Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan and India, part of American mechanisms should be part of which countries should be part of?
Well, coalition partners like Japan, Korea, Australia, Thailand and Philippines will definitely come together. I think it is natural, that is human nature. When you, suddenly, you have to face this major safety deficit, there is a tendency to rally around neighbors with equal ideologies. But the countries of this region are very diverse, with various security risk calculations, to emerge to the formation of NATO-type. For example, for South Korea, it is actually North Korea which is a security challenge. And its entire defense architecture, The detection, has been designed to combat the danger coming from North Korea.
Given those years, you have worked in the United Nations System, is it time for these countries to discuss a new world system system?
It is too much stretch to target only a new world system by agencies of middle powers. But I think it is in its own interest for middle powers to play a creative role, where, as Minister Jaishankar said, competitions do not form struggle. Therefore they can play a diplomatic role, in the new era, a peace can promote acute engagement to manage the dynamics of conflict by exiting control for dynamic and creating rooms.
Published – 06 April, 2025 10:14 pm IST