South Korea Worries It Will Be a Victim of China-U.S. Trade War

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump’s tariffs against China are making South Korea increasingly concerned about the collateral damage to its own exporters, which sell huge volumes of parts and components that go into China’s final products.

Korea sold $142 billion of goods to China last year, its biggest export market, and 79 percent of those were intermediate products. Hyundai Research Institute estimates that Korean exports to China could drop by about half the amount of any decline in Chinese exports to the U.S.

In addition, the chance of Korean companies benefiting by displacing Chinese competitors in the U.S. market is low, said Mun Byung-ki, a senior researcher at Institute for International Trade in Seoul, citing Trump’s intention to foster American manufacturers.

Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a meeting with aides on Monday that growing trade protectionism and trade conflict between the U.S. and China could hurt the Korean economy, and he urged the country to prepare.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jiyeun Lee in Seoul at jlee1029@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brett Miller at bmiller30@bloomberg.net, Henry Hoenig

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