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FACT SHEET:
U.S.–Korea Free Trade Agreement
September 2008
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The United States concluded free trade negotiations with Korea on
April 1, 2007. This agreement is the most commercially significant free
trade agreement the United States has negotiated in nearly 20 years.
- The agreement will provide access to Korea’s $1 trillion economy
and 49 million consumers.
- The United States is already Korea’s top supplier of a broad
variety of agricultural exports at $3.5 billion ($4 billion
including fish and forest products) in 2007, making Korea the sixth
largest export market for U.S. farm products. The United States is
the No. 1 supplier to Korea of many farm products including almonds,
beef, fresh cherries, hides and skins, poultry, soybeans, corn, and
wheat.
With the agreement, almost two-thirds of U.S. farm products
exports will become duty free immediately. These include wheat,
corn, soybeans for crushing, whey for feed use, hides and skins,
cotton, cherries, pistachios, almonds, orange juice, grape
juice, and wine.
Other farm products that will benefit from immediate
duty-free access within new tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) and
safeguards include skim and whole milk powder, whey for food
use, cheese, dextrins and modified starches, barley, popcorn,
soybeans for food use, dehydrated and table potatoes, honey,
oranges, and hay.
Korea’s 40-percent tariff on U.S. beef will be eliminated
over 15 years. By 2014, more than 90 percent of pork exports
will be duty-free.
- On the regulatory side, the agreement establishes an SPS
Committee to enhance cooperation and consultation on sanitary and
phytosanitary matters. The objectives of the committee are to
achieve regulatory harmonization through the use of international
standards and guidelines, including those of the World Organization
for Animal Health (OIE).
- The American Farm Bureau Federation predicts that this
agreement, once fully implemented, could provide $1.6 billion in
additional farm exports for American agriculture. In addition, the
free trade agreement with Korea is supported by more than 40 U.S.
agricultural and food associations.
For questions about the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement and its
impact on U.S. agriculture, please contact FAS Legislative and Public
Affairs Office at (202)720-7115 or LPA@fas.usda.gov.
U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement Page
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