Worsening trade conditions pose greater risk for the export-reliant Korean economy, warned central bank chief Wednesday.
“The developments in the global front since the beginning of the year suggest sweeping changes in the global trade order that badly bode for export outlook,” Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol told reporters.
British Prime Minister Theresa May signaled “Hard Brexit” (British exit from the European Union) last month and U.S. President Donald Trump in his first week in office signed executive orders to shun the fledgling Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) as well as renegotiating the decades-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Separately Trump and his top trade adviser blamed China, Japan, and Germany of exploiting currency to help their trade.
“We expected strong actions to some extent, but Trump’s election campaign promises have substantiated faster and stronger than expected,” he said.
Since exports takes up 40 percent of nation’s gross domestic product, sluggish external trade could translate into poorer growth while recovery in domestic demand is being delayed due to poor sentiment, he warned.
The government needs to work closer with the private sector to fight the shockwave, he said.
Exports data has improved in recent months due to global economic recovery, and if the trend keeps up, it could help domestic demand, he said.
By Boo Jang-won
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