미국 상호관세 협상에서의 경제안보와 지식재산권 보호 연계에 관한 연구

초록

On April 2, 2025, the United States officially announced a country-specific reciprocal tariff policy that shook the foundations of the global trade order. President Trump declared the day as “Liberation Day,” signifying America’s escape from chronic trade deficits and the constraints of unfair agreements. Over the following two months, the United States engaged in large-scale tariff negotiations with major trading partners, and on August 7, reciprocal tariffs differentiated by 10 to 50 percent by country were implemented. On January 20, 2025, the very day of his inauguration as the 47th President, President Trump signed the America First Trade Policy (AFTP) executive order. Comprising six provisions, the AFTP not only aimed at reducing trade deficits but also included comprehensive containment measures against China. Article 3 on economic security specifically called for strong actions against China’s forced technology transfer policies. Based on this, U.S. IPR protection policy evolved into a broader technology security policy, and the administration instructed the cabinet to link this technology security agenda with the reciprocal tariff strategy at the global level. Whereas the first Trump administration had focused primarily on China, the second term shifted toward demanding that U.S. allies also align with its China policy through the medium of reciprocal tariffs. This strategy was concretized in April 2025 when the USTR, under strict confidentiality, provided each country with a reciprocal tariff negotiation agenda. A number of studies have been published on U.S. reciprocal tariff negotiations. However, there has been little research examining how IPR protection is closely intertwined with these negotiations from the perspective of technology security. This study can therefore be regarded as one of the first to address the linkage between IPR protection and reciprocal tariffs under the Trump administration. Although the negotiations were conducted under strict secrecy and few official documents are available, this paper seeks to analyze, based on currently accessible materials, how the United States is expanding its China-focused IPR protection policy to its allies, and to derive corresponding policy implications.

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