[KS] Re: Unequal treaties

Alain Delissen Alain.Delissen at ehess.fr
Tue Aug 25 11:48:40 EDT 1998


Kirk Larsen wrote :

>In general, as far as tariff rates are concerned, the first round of
>treaties signed betwen Korean and the U.S., Britain, and France (1882)
>were rather generous toward the Koreans. The British forced a revision
>based on MFN privileges and comparing the tariff rates to late-1882
>Sino-Korean Trade Regulations. After late 1883, nearly all Korean tarrif
>rates were a rather low 5-7%.

I am a bit bewildered however.
The higher tariff rates, the "more generous" Treaty provisions.
5-7% was "low" but hence not precisely "generous" toward Korea. True, it
was higher than what China had had to swallow in 1842 and after (5%).
The US-Korea Treaty was more generous (10%) albeit still quite unequal on
other respects.
Not to recall that average rates could be misleading, the question of who
got to be "in charge" of the custom services (Li Hongzang's China in Korea)
is more essential.
Note that between 1876 and 1883 the Japanese had succeeded in forcing a
no-tariff trade onto Korea.

Am I wrong? Or have I been missing the whole Unequal Treaty Issue for years?

Alain DELISSEN
CENTRE COREE

Ecole des hautes etudes en sciences sociales/
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

Maison d'Asie, 22 avenue du Pdt Wilson, 75116 Paris
Tel/Fax 01 53 70 18 76




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