Political conflict in the United States cannot be fully understood through news and social media portrayals alone.

Sean King, Senior Vice President at Park Strategies and former Senior Advisor for Asia at the U.S. Department of Commerce, discusses the inner workings of American politics, shifts in the global trade order, and the conditions needed to build a sustainable and mutually beneficial relationship between the United States and South Korea.

Q1.Having worked across government, consulting, finance, and business advisory, what is one assumption that Asian companies often make about entering the U.S. market that tends to prove wrong in practice?

The U.S. political partisanship seen on television and social media doesn’t always tell the full story.

Democratic and Republican politicians may argue with each other in the media but what not enough people realize (including, many Americans themselves) is that their staffs often work closely together behind the scenes so long as it’s in their constituents’ interests.

This is especially the case when it comes to promoting U.S. exports and/or attracting foreign direct investment, so long as it’s from a friendly jurisdiction like South Korea.

Q2.As trade policy and geopolitical risk increasingly influence business decisions, how should companies distinguish temporary political uncertainty from structural changes that require a long-term strategic response?

Don’t just listen to what candidates say about trade but follow what they do once in office.

Also, follow company supply chains and see how business itself is adjusting to changes about which many of us only read in the news.

For better or worse, there is a general U.S. public turn away from what we’ve come to consider free trade.

There’s also a real move, in many sectors, to “decouple” trade and investment with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for security reasons.

I support this latter shift, especially if it means more trade and investment with trusted friends and allies.

Q3.Looking ahead, what kind of leaders will be most effective at building credible and durable business relationships between the United States and Asia?

The best trans-Pacific relationships will be forged by those likeminded leaders who can foresee and appreciate the gains that can be achieved by investing in each other’s successes.

One side’s gain is not necessarily the other’s loss or vice versa.

This mutually beneficial outlook can also apply to government.

For example, Washington annually expends billions of dollars to station troops and weapons in South Korea.

But Seoul covers a sizable portion of these costs and our troops there not only help defend a democracy and free market but also provide a useful check on nearby Beijing’s regional strategic ambitions.

We give but we also take and receive. Both sides gain.

International relations cannot be understood solely through a zero-sum framework in which one side’s gain is another’s loss.

Sean King emphasizes the importance of looking beyond political rhetoric to actual policies and changes in corporate supply chains.

He argues that leaders who invest in each other’s success are the ones who build lasting relationships between the United States and Asia.

Sean King, Senior Vice President at Park Strategies

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