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US to reduce troops in Germany by 5,000... Tariffs virtually restored on EU passenger cars and trucks
South Korea, having experienced Trump's tariff hike threats... US movements targeting 'countries that refused troop deployment' are being closely watched
The US Donald Trump administration appears to be openly escalating security and trade retaliatory measures against Europe, which largely refused requests for contributions related to the war against Iran.
It has decided to reduce US troops in Germany, which criticized his conduct of the Iran war and took an uncooperative stance, and announced tariff increases on passenger cars and trucks produced in the European Union (EU).
The US Department of Defense (War Department) confirmed to Yonhap News on the 1st (local time) that it plans to reduce US forces stationed in Germany by approximately 5,000 troops, following the instructions of Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The US forces stationed in Germany number around 35,000 to 36,000. Reducing US troops by about 14% in this strategic stronghold against Russia, this reduction will be completed within 6 to 12 months, Yonhap News reported.
This comes just two days after President Trump announced on the 29th of last month that "the United States is looking at the possibility of reducing troops in Germany" and that "a decision will be made soon."
The previous day, President Trump also did not rule out the possibility of reducing US troops stationed in other European countries besides Germany, such as Italy and Spain, which were uncooperative or critical of the Iran war.
President Trump also announced today that he would raise tariffs on passenger cars and trucks from the European Union (EU) to 25% starting next week.
This is a declaration to restore tariffs on passenger cars and trucks to the level prior to the trade agreement concluded between the US and the EU on July 27 last year (27.5% including basic tariffs).
The agreement at the time stipulated that the US would lower reciprocal tariffs to 15% and uniformly reduce tariffs on items such as automobiles to 15%, on the condition that the EU purchased US energy and military equipment worth 750 billion dollars and made an additional investment of 600 billion dollars.
President Trump cited "the fact that the EU is not complying with the trade agreement we fully agreed upon" as the basis for this measure.
However, the fact that retaliatory measures have effectively been taken in the security sector after trade is interpreted as stemming from President Trump's dissatisfaction with the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), considering the recent conflict between the US and Europe.
President Trump had previously expressed disappointment, stating he would "remember" that major European member states of NATO, the transatlantic military alliance, had refused requests to dispatch warships to the Strait of Hormuz.
President Trump also responded in strong terms to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who stated that the entire United States was being "humiliated" by Iran, saying Merz "doesn't know what he's talking about."
In essence, the US is using the security umbrella it provides to Europe and price competitiveness in the US market (through tariffs) as 'weapons' to intensely pressure its European allies.
In this context, it is noteworthy how Asian allies such as South Korea and Japan, to whom President Trump requested troop deployments to Iran, will be affected.
South Korea and Japan have shown a cautious stance regarding President Trump's request for troop deployment, while participating in international efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. It is virtually tantamount to non-compliance.
President Trump has, in fact, repeatedly mentioned the security contributions of US forces stationed in South Korea and Japan when expressing disappointment with allies in the Iran war.
Although South Korea and Japan were not overtly critical of the Iran war, it is difficult to say that they are completely outside the range of security and trade retaliation once President Trump has categorized them as 'countries that did not provide help when needed.'
It is reportedly not yet perceived that conflicts related to South Korea and Japan have escalated as much as with Europe in the Trump administration.
The South Korean Ministry of National Defense stated on the 30th of last month, immediately after President Trump's remarks first hinted at the withdrawal of US troops from Germany, that "there have been no discussions between South Korea and the US regarding the reduction of US forces in Korea."
However, given President Trump's impulsive and unpredictable nature, there is no room for complacency, and diplomatic and trade channels are closely monitoring developments.
In South Korea's case, it seems difficult to ease tensions as President Trump threatened in January to restore item-specific tariffs on automobiles and other reciprocal tariffs to 25% due to delays in implementing investment in the US under the trade agreement.
Recently, observations have been raised by US think tanks, among others, that an unusual atmosphere may be forming in US-South Korea relations due to controversies surrounding the US's restriction on information sharing with North Korea and the divergence in views between the two countries on Coupang's personal information breach incident.
Even compared to Japan, South Korea is relatively free from constitutional restrictions on overseas troop deployment, and Japan is indeed a step ahead of South Korea in terms of implementing the US trade agreement, having announced its first investment destinations in the US.
Therefore, concerns are also raised that it is difficult to completely rule out the possibility that President Trump might target South Korea as the next target among allies, rather than Europe.
However, there is also an expectation that the US side will be aware that excessively pressuring or emotionally dealing with South Korea could be a bad move in terms of 'maintaining leverage' ahead of the US-China summit.
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