Korea is a $1.4 trillion economy and its trade relationship with the United States is largely complementary. In 2016, reciprocal trade between the two countries exceeded $112.2 billion. In 2016, U.S. merchandise exports to Korea reached nearly $US 42.26 billion, down 2015. The trade agreement affects an estimated 362 million consumers in the United States and the Republic of Korea. [Citation required] The treaty provisions remove 95% of each country`s tariffs on goods within five years and create new protection for multinational financial service providers and other businesses. [4] For the United States, the treaty was the first free trade agreement (NAFTA) with a major Asian economy and the largest trade agreement since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993. For South Korea, the KORUS free trade agreement ranks second after the free trade agreement signed with the European Union[10] and dwarfs other free trade agreements signed with Chile, Singapore, the European Free Trade Area and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). [11] This result is worrying because it takes trade policy back to the 1980s and uses an instrument that operates outside of current international rules.
The combination of unrelated national security issues to push Korea to make concessions indicates a new approach to trade negotiations, which we will likely see more from the Trump administration. Donald Trump never seemed to like South Korea. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) until it does. As a candidate, he criticized the deal as „a job-destroying trade deal“ and President Trump threatened to withdraw from the „terrible deal“ after his tenure, before South Korea agreed to a renegotiation. After making modest changes to the agreement, it was „a very big thing.“ Under the Free Trade Agreement, more than half of current U.S. agricultural exports to Korea — worth more than $1.4 billion — are immediately exempt from tariffs, including high-quality agricultural products like almonds, pistachios, wine and cherries. For many other important agricultural products such as pork and citrus fruits, the free trade agreement will provide unprecedented access to the South Korean market and its thriving consumer base. Seoul wanted to include in the agreement products from South Korean companies in the Kaesong industrial region of North Korea; Washington has not done so. The disagreement has not been resolved, but it has not been allowed to cancel the agreement, which allows for further discussions on the matter. [11] The third round of discussions, which took place in March, coincided with the Trump administration`s announcement to impose new tariffs on steel, pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. . .
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