Shocker! Trump lies about South Korea trade deal and autos.

[Fred Sanders]

https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/27/news/economy/us-south-korea-trade-deal/index.html

Auto exports

The Trump administration says some of the key changes affect the auto industry, which accounts for a big chunk of the trade deficit the United States runs with South Korea.

Under the revamped deal, each US carmaker will be allowed to export 50,000 vehicles per year to South Korea that meet American safety standards, up from 25,000 previously. Beyond that threshold, cars shipped from the United States will have to comply with South Korean safety rules, which American companies say put them at a disadvantage.

But analysts say the increased quota is unlikely to make much difference anytime soon. No US automaker sold more than 11,000 cars in South Korea last year.

https://www.vox.com/2018/9/24/17883506/trump-korea-trade-deal-korus

But the biggest factor in the trade imbalance is related to car sales, and that’s what really bothers the Trump administration. In 2016, Americans imported $16 billion worth of Korean cars — about 10 times more than the $1.5 billion South Koreans spent importing American cars. Auto industry experts say the reason for this is pretty simple: Americans love Hyundai and Kia cars much more than South Koreans love Chevys and Fords.

American automakers “don’t really make cars that are popular there,” said Lester, of the Cato Institute. “I haven’t seen much of an effort to crack these markets.”