Can South Korea Trust the United States?

IF 1.2 3区社会学 Q2 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Washington Quarterly Pub Date : 2023-04-03 DOI:10.1080/0163660X.2023.2226531

Andrew Yeo

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

In meetings with their US counterparts, South Korean policymakers have repeatedly raised the same question: can South Korea trust the United States? The answer is a resounding and increasingly exasperated “yes” fromAmerican officials and experts. However, doubts have surfaced over the past year on the Korean side regarding US commitments to the US-Republic of Korea (ROK) alliance, despite Seoul and Washington publicly reaffirming the ironclad nature of their 70-year alliance. President Yoon Suk Yeol’s April 2023 state visit to Washington DC and his summit meeting with President Joseph Biden, their second in as many years, was aimed at demonstrating the importance of the US-ROK alliance to both Americans and South Koreans, while also acknowledging South Korea’s growing role in the Indo-Pacific. Although the Yoon-Biden summit may have been meaningful in helping the two governments and their respective domestic audiences think about the future value of the alliance, it did not necessarily resolve some of the underlying bilateral tensions. Two specific issues have driven rising South Korean angst over the past year. The first is a small provision found in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden that eliminates up to $7,500 in tax credits for electric vehicles (EVs) produced outside of the United States to encourage US consumers to buy American goods. The legislation excluded South

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韩国能信任美国吗?

在与美国同行的会晤中，韩国决策者一再提出同样的问题：韩国能信任美国吗？答案是来自美国官员和专家的响亮且越来越愤怒的“是”。然而，尽管首尔和华盛顿公开重申了他们70年联盟的铁一般性质，但在过去一年里，韩国方面对美国对美韩联盟的承诺产生了怀疑。尹锡悦总统于2023年4月对华盛顿进行国事访问，并与约瑟夫·拜登总统举行了多年来的第二次峰会，旨在表明美韩联盟对美国人和韩国人的重要性，同时也承认韩国在印太地区日益增长的作用。尽管尹-拜登峰会可能有助于两国政府及其各自的国内受众思考联盟的未来价值，但它并不一定能解决一些潜在的双边紧张局势。在过去的一年里，有两个具体的问题导致韩国的焦虑情绪加剧。第一项是国会通过并由拜登总统签署成为法律的《通胀削减法案》中的一项小条款，该条款取消了在美国境外生产的电动汽车的高达7500美元的税收抵免，以鼓励美国消费者购买美国商品。该立法排除了南方

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来源期刊

Washington Quarterly Multiple-

CiteScore

2.90

自引率

5.90%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Washington Quarterly (TWQ) is a journal of global affairs that analyzes strategic security challenges, changes, and their public policy implications. TWQ is published out of one of the world"s preeminent international policy institutions, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and addresses topics such as: •The U.S. role in the world •Emerging great powers: Europe, China, Russia, India, and Japan •Regional issues and flashpoints, particularly in the Middle East and Asia •Weapons of mass destruction proliferation and missile defenses •Global perspectives to reduce terrorism Contributors are drawn from outside as well as inside the United States and reflect diverse political, regional, and professional perspectives.