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FACT
SHEET:
U.S.-Korea Free Trade
Agreement - What's at Stake for
Corn?
September 2008
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081013073128im_/http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/factsheets/images/spacer.gif)
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The U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) will provide America’s
farmers, ranchers, food processors, and the businesses they support with
improved access to the Republic of Korea’s 49 million consumers. If approved by
Congress, this would be the most economically significant trade agreement for
the U.S. agricultural sector in 15 years.
Under this agreement, more than 60 percent of U.S. agricultural exports will
become duty-free immediately. Lower tariffs benefit both U.S. suppliers and
Korea’s consumers. The KORUS FTA will help the United States compete against
Korea’s other major agriculture suppliers and help keep the United States on a
level playing field with Korea’s current free trade partners, such as Chile, and
any future FTA partners.
With the Agreement…
Korea’s imports of U.S. corn for feed are guaranteed to enter at zero duty
immediately. Korea currently imports large quantities of feed corn at zero
tariff under its autonomous quota. As a member of the World Trade Organization
(WTO), Korea can legally discontinue this autonomous tariff at any time and
revert back to the WTO tariff of 3 percent for the first 6.1 million metric tons
and 328 percent for any imports above this WTO quantity. With the FTA, the
tariff on imports of U.S. feed corn will be locked in at zero.
The Trade Situation…
Korea is the fourth largest market for U.S. corn. From 2005 through 2007,
U.S. suppliers shipped an annual average of 4.1 million tons of corn valued at
$713 million. The U.S. share of Korea's import market has varied between 25 and
66 percent from 2005 to 2007. U.S. corn faces strong competition from China, but
the U.S. market share has been rising even as total Korean corn imports remained
steady.
The Current Market Access Situation…
U.S. feed corn enters Korea through tariff-rate quotas ranging from 2.15 to
8.0 million tons (depending on end use) and applied tariffs from zero to 3
percent. Once Korea fills its global WTO quota at a 3-percent tariff, the WTO
allows Korea to charge as much as a 328-percent tariff on any quantity above
that amount.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its
programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender,
religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or
family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with
disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program
information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA ’s
TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil
Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington,
DC 20250-9410, or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal
opportunity provider and employer.
Back to the U.S.-Korea Free Trade
Agreement
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