每日跟讀#659: Japan-South Korea trade spat continues to intensify

Antagonisms between South Korea and Japan, already at a boiling point, deepened with Tokyo’s decision on Aug. 2 to expand controls over exports of sensitive materials by dropping its neighbor from a “white list” of 27 countries granted preferential trade status. The implications of the decision have rippled across the high-tech sector, further shaking up supply chains already rattled by US-China trade tensions.

南韓與日本間之敵對已處於沸點。在東京八月二日決定擴大對敏感材料出口之控制、將南韓自優惠貿易地位的二十七個「白名單」國家中剔除後，兩國間之敵對情緒更形激烈。此決定在高科技領域掀起了波瀾，讓已因美中貿易緊張局勢而飽受衝擊的供應鏈遭受進一步打擊。

In retaliation, mere hours after Japan’s move, South Korea announced its intention to remove Japan from its “white list” of trusted trading partners.

Of the three sensitive materials targeted, Japan supplies about 90 percent of the fluorinated polyimides, 90 percent of photoresists and 40 percent of hydrogen fluoride used by South Korean companies, Fitch Ratings said, citing the Korean International Trade Association.

南韓也不甘示弱，在日本做出此決定數小時後，也宣布要把日本移出其信任貿易夥伴的白名單。

信用評等機構惠譽引述韓國貿易協會的話說，就已被限制的三種敏感材料而言，南韓公司約百分之九十的氟聚酰亞胺、百分之九十的光阻劑，以及百分之四十的氟化氫，都是由日本供應。

As of July 4, Japanese companies need case-by-case approvals to export to South Korea the three materials, which are used to make semiconductors and displays used in smartphones and other high-tech devices. With the loss of South Korea’s “white country” status, that requirement will apply to dozens more products on a list of items that potentially could be converted to weapons, according to a Japanese trade ministry document.

這三種材料是製造半導體及顯示器所必需，用以組裝智慧型手機與其他高科技設備；然而，自七月四日起，日本公司若要向南韓出口這些材料，必須逐案申請批准。日本經濟產業省的一份文件顯示，南韓失去「白名單國家」地位，表示該申請程序將套用在可能用來製造武器的數十種產品。

Japan’s trade ministry says Seoul has undermined a “relationship of trust,” including export controls, with lax controls on re-exports. South Korea denies this. Meanwhile, tensions have risen with some South Koreans calling for boycotts of Japanese products.

日本經濟產業省表示，首爾的出口管制，以及對其他國家再出口的疏於管制，已破壞了日韓的「信任關係」。南韓對此加以否認。同時，一些南韓人呼籲抵制日本商品，兩國緊張局勢升高。

South Korea’s trade ministry has acknowledged that from 2015 to March 2019 the government detected 156 cases of unauthorized exports of sensitive materials that could be used for military purposes. A report by the Japanese network Fuji TV that cited government data said the illegal shipments included thermos-cameras, carbon fibers, zirconium and sodium cyanide, among other items, and went to countries like China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Sri Lanka.

南韓產業通商資源部承認，自二○一五年至二○一九年三月，政府發現了一百五十六起未經授權的敏感材料出口案件，這些材料可做為軍事用。日本富士電視台引述政府資料說，非法貨品包括熱像儀、碳纖維、鋯和氰化鈉等，被運往中國、俄羅斯、印度、巴基斯坦、伊朗、敘利亞、土耳其和斯里蘭卡等國家。

The tightening controls are adding to uncertainty for technology manufacturers. According to IHS Markit, in 2018 Korean firms SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics supplied 61 percent of memory components used in various electronics, relying heavily on Japanese suppliers. “If restrictions remain, Korean chipmakers‘ production lines and therefore global semiconductor supply chains are likely to be disrupted. Korean chipmakers are major actors in global semiconductor supply chains,” Fitch said in a recent report.

緊縮的控制措施給科技廠商增加了不確定性：經濟預測機構 IHS Markit 表示，在二○一八年，全球百分之六十一的記憶元件是由南韓公司SK海力士及三星電子所製造，以供各類電子產品使用，而這些南韓公司極度仰賴日本所供應的原料。惠譽在最近的一份報告中表示：「韓國晶片製造商是全球半導體供應鏈的要角。如果貿易限制仍然存在，南韓晶片製造商的生產線以及全球半導體供應鏈可能會斷裂」。

Adding another layer of ambiguity to the diplomatic dispute, Tokyo also has expressed dissatisfaction over demands for compensation for people forced to work for Japanese companies before and during World War II, an issue Japan says it settled under a 1965 treaty normalizing relations.

此外交爭端因另一事更形撲朔迷離。東京不滿南韓要求日本賠償二戰期間及戰前被日本公司強迫徵用的韓國勞工，日本稱此問題在一九六五年簽訂日韓關係正常化條約時已經解決。

Japan and South Korea are both important hosts for US military bases in East Asia, but they’ve been bickering for years over a territorial dispute and over South Korean demands for more contrition and compensation from Japan for its use of forced labor and sexual abuse of Korean women in military brothels during the Japanese occupation of the Korean peninsula in the early 20th century. Until recently, such issues had not affected trade between the two countries, both of which depend heavily on exports.

美國在日本及南韓都駐有軍事基地，兩國皆為美國在東亞的重要盟友。但日韓兩國多年來爭端不斷，問題包括領土爭端，以及南韓要求日本對二十世紀初占領朝鮮半島時的強行徵兵及慰安婦等問題加以賠償及道歉。日韓兩國都極度依賴出口，在此貿易爭端發生之前，這些問題並未影響兩國間的貿易。

Source article: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2019/08/06/2003719968/2