The USDA Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) in Seoul recently launched a Web page to showcase potential opportunities to be created by the soon-to-be-implemented U.S.-Korea Trade Agreement (KORUS). KORUS will take effect on March 15, 2012.

The Foreign Agricultural Service recommends that U.S. agricultural exporters and those interested in expanding sales to international markets visit the page, called What U.S. Exporters Need to Know about the KORUS Agreement, to learn about the agreement, understand new tariff schedules, and gain valuable information about the fifth-largest market for U.S. farm products. Read more »

In June, three new menu items using U.S. chicken legs were launched at ‘Fish and Grill,’ a fusion-style bar that boasts 450 locations throughout Korea.

Through a variety of promotional activities in Korea, the U.S.A. Poultry and Egg Export Council (USAPEEC) is showcasing the quality and value of U.S. poultry products and promoting the benefits of implementation of the Korea-U.S. Trade Agreement (KORUS). Read more »

Approximately 40 U.S. food companies from every region of the United States set up shop last week at the annual Seoul Food and Hotel 2011 Trade Show, the largest food show in Korea. This year, excitement in the U.S. pavilion was particularly high as the United States recently concluded negotiations with South Korea on the pending U.S.-Korea trade agreement (KORUS), which will provide American agriculture with improved access to Korea’s $1 trillion economy.

The United States is already Korea’s top supplier of a broad variety of food and farm products. U.S. agriculture, fish and forestry exports to Korea totaled $5.8 billion in 2010, making Korea the fifth largest export market for U.S. farm products. Under the KORUS, American products will become significantly more affordable for Korea’s 49 million consumers, since the trade agreement will eliminate most of Korea’s tariffs (taxes on imports). Read more »

This week, I traveled to North Carolina and partnered with Korean Ambassador Han Duk-soo, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others in support of the U.S.-Korea Trade Agreement or KORUS.

The Obama Administration recognizes that exports are vital to the health of the agricultural sector and our nation’s economy as a whole. That’s why we’re working hard to ensure passage of the KORUS agreement, as well as the pending free trade agreements with Colombia and Panama. Read more »

L to R-- Mike Baroni, vice president of economic policy, Archer Daniels Midland Company; Dr. Jon Hagler, director, Missouri Department of Agriculture; Secretary Vilsack; Senator Claire McCaskill; Jim Fisher, pork producer, Fisher Farms

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spent part of last week in St. Louis, Mo., making several stops to promote trade and agriculture and to announce the opening of a new office in St. Louis for the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. Read more »

Secretary Vilsack on the Mississippi River with a grain elevator towering behind him, highlighted how the Korea trade agreement would eliminate tariffs on two-thirds of all U.S. ag exports to Korea and bring $1.8 billion export growth.

I spent yesterday in St. Louis, talking about the importance of trade and smart trade deals to America’s rebounding economy. Within 500 miles of St. Louis, farmers are producing more than three quarters of the nation’s corn and soybean crops, injecting $75 billion into the global economy, supporting 265,000 jobs, and producing $131 billion in crops and livestock. Meanwhile, the Mississippi River moves about 500 million tons of cargo each year, including 60 percent of the nation’s grain exports, accounting for $8.5 billion in exports. USDA recently reported that grain barge traffic around St. Louis is up 126 percent over last year, underscoring the importance of St. Louis to the national economy as a hub for U.S. farm exports. As the heart of the nation’s farm economy, St. Louis is pumping life into the overall economy. Read more »