Tokyo and Seoul: The Other Pacific Trade War
With the world focused on the U.S.-China trade war, there is another trade dispute simmering in the Asia-Pacific -- that between neighbors Japan and South Korea centered on the semiconductor sector. Prompted by South Korea's hardline push against Japan's World War II-era legacy, Tokyo made the unprecedented move of retaliating by restricting exports of critical chipmaking inputs. South Korea's responded tit-for-tat with its own restrictions and boycotts of Japanese products, redoubling its long-term effort to promote indigenous industry. This Northeast Asian trade war highlights that Asia-Pacific disruptions are not limited to U.S. efforts to counter China's rise. Among Asia-Pacific powers themselves, deep-seated historical grievances and strategic competition presents a sustained risk as well, transcending mutual economic self-interest -- and one only set to grow in the coming decades. This talk will explore the impacts of the Tokyo-Seoul trade war on the semiconductor sector, including negative impacts on cooperation and connectivity between the South Korean and Japanese semiconductor and broader tech sectors. It will also explore future prospects for the endurance of tensions and broader lessons on geopolitical disruptions in the Asia-Pacific.