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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump wants to reevaluate free trade and defense agreements to ensure they are balanced 'win-win' deals and reflect changes since the deals were signed, an adviser to the nominee said.
Joseph Schmitz, a foreign policy and national security adviser to Trump, made the remark during a Foreign Press Center briefing on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, where Trump was officially named the Republican nominee for the November election Tuesday.
"Mr. Trump is not saying we don't want to have trade deals. It's just like our defense alliances, trade deals need to be reevaluated so that they actually make sense for both parties," Schmitz said, according to a Foreign Press Center transcript.
"The nature of a deal, it's a win-win relationship. And sometimes deals over time change based on circumstances that weren't anticipated by the parties. And that's all Mr. Trump is saying. We need to constantly reevaluate so that our deals with Korea and with any other nation are win-win deals," he said.
The remark reinforces concern that Trump, if elected president, could seek to renegotiate the free trade agreement with South Korea that has been in effect since 2012 and is considered a symbol of the economic alliance between the two countries.
The real-estate business tycoon is also expected to try to renegotiate the deal with South Korea on how to share the upkeep cost of some 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea in order to force Seoul to shoulder most of the cost.
Schmitz dismissed concern that Trump has little experience in international relations.
(Yonhap)
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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