U.S.-Korea FTA News

“Look beyond KORUS,” the Asia Society Policy Institute recommends in a just-released think piece – a blueprint for trade and trade-enhancing actions designed to expand U.S. and South Korean “bilateral economic engagement to new and evolving areas.” The group recommends, among other things, that South Korea forsake its “sidelines” position on addressing “China’s unfair trading practices” and join the group (the U.S., the European Union and Japan) spearheading effort to address what they consider trade-distorting issues. “Korea should join this...

Cho Yoon-je, South Korea’s ambassador to the U.S., said on Wednesday that U.S. Section 232 tariffs on Korean autos would not make “much sense.” “We are monitoring closely how [the Section 232 investigation] develops,” Cho said during a Jan. 9 event hosted by the Hudson Institute. “We hope Korea will not be subject to that Section 232.” Cho questioned whether the U.S. could credibly claim a national security case for tariffs on Korean autos, as required under Section 232 of...

South Korea’s National Assembly on Friday ratified the revised U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, advancing the implementation of the pact that was reopened last year. The ratification marks the final domestic procedure needed for the deal’s implementation, according to the state-backed Yonhap news service. The Korean government submitted a ratification bill for the revised KORUS to the National Assembly in October after President Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in signed it in New York in September. The deal’s signing occurred...

The revised U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement will have a limited effect on Seoul's automotive industry, according to a report from South Korean government think tanks. According to the state-backed Yonhap news service, the report said the doubling of U.S. auto exports to 50,000 per year per manufacturer – a key piece of the deal for the U.S. – would “ bring about little change ” to Seoul’s market. The report, submitted to the South Korean parliament by the Ministry of...

President Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-In on Monday signed an updated U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement in New York City. “This is long in coming,” Trump said. “Many years, actually, I will say, in coming.” Trump touted the agreement as validation of his trade agenda, calling it a “historic milestone in trade, something that most people thought was not going to be happening.” “In addition to this deal we have many in the works,” he added. “And they're...