Trump Seeks 'One-Stop Shopping' Deal with South Korea, Sparking U.S. Trust Concerns

# Trump's Comprehensive Trade Approach with South Korea Under Review During his presidency, Donald Trump aimed to consolidate various trade negotiations with South Korea—including tariffs, trade agreements, and defense cost-sharing—into a unified "one-stop shopping" strategy. U.S. media, however, indicated potential drawbacks to this approach. CNBC published an article on the 19th highlighting how "many nations are trying to navigate through Trump’s extensive tariff strategies in his second term by engaging in negotiations. The president's approach, which integrates trade, tariffs, and defense cost-sharing into all-encompassing deals, has drawn particular attention to South Korea." The article referenced Trump’s comments on Truth Social after his May 8th phone call with then-acting South Korean President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. Trump stated, "We discussed the substantial military protection we offer South Korea," followed by, "One-stop shopping is a beautiful and efficient process." # Trust Issues Among U.S. Allies CNBC also warned that Trump's consolidation strategy might undermine trust among U.S. allies. Jacksonville State University professor Hosik Nam suggested that leveraging U.S. troop presence in negotiations could “deteriorate the trust America’s closest allies place in U.S. security assurances,” potentially rebranding the U.S. as an isolated superpower. Similarly, Singapore’s defense minister, Ng Eng Hen, commented during the Munich Security Conference in February, "The U.S. reputation has evolved from liberator to disruptor to a landlord collecting rent." # South Korea's Negotiation Strategies Experts suggested South Korea might use its own defense spending as a negotiation tool. RAND Pardee Graduate School professor Bruce Bennett proposed that Trump might connect trade negotiations with South Korea’s defense budget, calling it “part of the way he operates.” Bennett speculated that Seoul might consider raising its defense budget by $3 billion to $4 billion (roughly 4.2 trillion to 5.6 trillion won), potentially directing funds toward equipment purchases that align with U.S. strategic interests. This, he noted, “could significantly appeal to President Trump.” # Continuing U.S.-South Korea Negotiations On April 24, the U.S. and South Korea agreed to work toward a tariff package deal by July 8, as set by the U.S. government, during a '2+2 high-level trade meeting.' Negotiations are ongoing. Previously, Trump indicated on April 24 that military matters would not be part of the current tariff negotiations. However, given his campaign rhetoric in 2016 labeling South Korea a “money machine,” there is speculation he might revisit the issue later. As discussions progress, the impact of Trump’s “one-stop shopping” approach on U.S.-South Korea relations will be closely watched by global markets and political analysts.