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US President Donald Trump

As US President Donald Trump signed an executive order for safeguards (emergency import restriction measures) against washing machines and solar cells and modules produced in South Korea and other foreign countries on Jan. 23, he said that these measures would give LG and Samsung a strong incentive to faithfully implement their recent promise to build large-scale washing machine production facilities in the US. He also said that the measures would bring many manufacturing firms to the US to build washing machine and solar panel factories.

As if recklessly activating the safeguards were not enough, Trump made plain that his trade retaliatory measures were actually motivated by domestic politics. The implication is that Trump pays no heed to international norms when they prevent him from consolidating his base. That’s the height of arrogance.

Because safeguards are such a powerful means of trade retaliation, the WTO strictly regulates their imposition. Three requirements must be met: a rapid increase in imports, severe harm to domestic industry and a causal relationship between the increase in imports and the industrial harm. But Whirlpool, the American company that asked the Trump administration to take measures against Samsung and LG, has actually seen its revenues and operating profit increase. It hasn’t had to suspend operations at its factories or lay off workers. For such reasons, even the US media have leveled criticism against Trump’s remark that this will benefit American consumers and create jobs.

“Invoking such measures has almost always harmed consumers, stunted growth and led to retaliation,” Bloomberg wrote in an editorial. “The biggest losers will be the workers and consumers Trump claims to represent.”

“While the tariffs may help domestic manufacturers, they are expected to ripple throughout the industry in ways that may ultimately hurt American companies and their workers,” the New York Times said.

“The tariffs — already denounced by China, Germany and Mexico — are likely to heighten tensions between the United States and its trade partners,” the AP wrote.

The South Korean government has condemned the US safeguards as “unfair measures” and announced that it will raise the issue at the World Trade Organization (WTO). “For now, we will file a dispute with the WTO and also aggressively discuss joint response options with other countries who are subject to the safeguards,” said South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong. In addition, Seoul needs to work closely with countries that are opposed to the Trump administration’s protectionism.

During his keynote address to the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, which kicked off on Jan. 23, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned that protectionism is just as dangerous as global warming and terrorism. Similar condemnation was voiced by German Prime Minister Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It’s reassuring that many countries in Europe and Asia are working to stop the protectionists in the Trump administration from upsetting the world trade order.

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