Prema-chandra Athukorala, Australian National University: This paper deals with two specific themes relating to the U.S.–China trade conflict: the impact of the U.S.–China trade war on South Korean foreign trade and the U.S. attempt to squeeze China through the World Trade Organization (WTO). The paper is motivated by the concern that the root cause of the trade conflict is U.S.–China hegemonic rivalry, a fundamental concern that goes well beyond the widening trade deficit experienced by the United States in its bilateral trade with China, and hence it is bound to persist much longer than many anticipate.
Korea provides an ideal laboratory to study global implications of the U.S.–China trade conflict in the context of the ongoing process of cross-border production sharing, and the resultant rapid growth in trade in parts and components (P&C) and final assembly in manufacturing trade. China is now the premier final assembly center within global production...