Deputy PM stresses accomplishments of KORUS FTA

Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Il-ho, left, shakes hands with American Chamber of Commerce in Korea Chairman James Kim before their meeting at the Government Complex in central Seoul, Wednesday. // Courtesy of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance

By Nam Hyun-woo

Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Il-ho stressed Wednesday the significant contributions of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) in increasing the two countries’ mutual benefits, in an apparent effort to soothe the Trump administration’s protectionist moves against Korea.

During his meeting with American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) Chairman James Kim, Yoo stressed that the volume of bilateral trade has “significantly increased” after the agreement took effect in 2011.

“The KORUS FTA has made a significant contribution in creating jobs and industrial progress in both countries,” Yoo said. “Along with the Korea-U.S. alliance, the agreement positioned itself as one of two pillars of the two countries’ relations.”

The remark came after U.S. President Donald Trump’s harsh rhetoric that the agreement is “killing American jobs.” He also pledged to renegotiate the agreement.

Yoo also spent time explaining that Korea’s currency policy is letting the market set the exchange rate and engaging in exceptional smoothing operations in case of extreme volatility. The remark came amid growing fears that Trump may take issue with the Bank of Korea’s foreign exchange policy and list Korea as a currency manipulator.

“I hope the Korean government’s plan and stance will be well delivered to the new administration, congress and private sector,” Yoo said.

Regarding the United States’ increasing trade deficit in Korea-bound trade, Yoo said the government will seek “balanced trade” by increasing energy resources imports, such as shale gas. Also, he promised to provide more support to Korean companies looking for infrastructure investment opportunities in the United States.

The government last year announced that Korea Gas Corporation will import 2.8 million tons of shale gas from the United States every year. According to government officials, it will amount to $1 billion. They added that the volume is “huge” given that Korea’s entire LPG imports in 2016 were worth $1.22 billion.