Korea, US trade ties 'stronger than ever'
By Cho Mu-hyun
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue said Monday that the mutual benefits from the free trade agreement (FTA) between his country and Korea are now “stronger than ever.”
The American organization overseeing trade signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, promising further collaboration between the two nations.
“We keep coming back to your country; we keep coming back to Asia, for the simple reason it is the essential market for U.S. companies,” said Donohue. “Success here is vital to American prosperity and Asia is home to some of the most important strategic and commercial ally that we have, beginning right here with Korea.
“Korea is our seventh largest trading partner and commercial relationship have never been better than today.”
The chamber president, while praising the “tremendous work” done by both parties to see the bilateral trade agreement signed on March 15, stressed that the real work will start now in boosting the effects of the pact.
He expects the 95 percent of trade to be duty free between the counties in five years, and exports to increase by billions of dollars annually creating tens of thousands of jobs.
To achieve these goals, the two sides have created a new committee to increase awareness on the positive effects of the trade deal, compile success stories from small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and consult to mitigate disagreements that may arise between the two countries.
“South Korea continues to emerge not only as an economic leader but as a geopolitical player, and our world is interconnected.
Untied States will increasingly rely on South Korea’s partnership to confront challenges of global trade,” Donohue said.
According to a U.S Department of Commerce report released Wednesday, between January and May imports from Korea were valued at $24.69 billion, an 8.1 percent increase from $22.84 billion during the same period last year.
Imports for May were $5.45 billion, similar to the $5.76 billion for April. However, exports to Korea for May were $3.46 billion, a 10.9 percent fall from the same period last year and a drop of 6.4 percent from last month.
This resulted in a trade deficit of $2 billion for the United States in May, an increase of 13 percent from the previous month and 53.5 percent from the same period a year ago.
In contrast, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance last month, though Korea’s total exports decreased 2.5 percent in the three months following the Korea-U.S FTA going into effect, exports to the United States increased 8.4 percent. Automobile and oil related products rose 18 percent and 8 percent respectively. Among the nation’s three most important trade partners ― China, the European Union and the United States ― Korea is only seeing increasing financial gains from trade with America.
Donohue said the American government currently has other priorities it’s focusing on rather than its current trade deficit with Korea.