U.S., South Korea to begin KORUS amendment negotiations Jan. 5

President Trump in July directed the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to initiate talks with South Korea to amend the U.S.-Korea (KORUS) Free Trade Agreement, which has been in effect since March 2012, after previously advocating for withdrawal.    The United States and South Korea on Jan. 5 will begin to negotiate amendments to the now nearly six-year-old free trade agreement between the two countries.
   Michael Beeman, assistant U.S. trade representative for Japan, Korea and APEC, will lead the U.S. delegation, while Myung-hee Yoo, director general from South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, will head the South Korean delegation. The amendment negotiations will be held in Washington, D.C.
   U.S. President Donald Trump in July directed the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to initiate talks with South Korea to amend the U.S.-Korea (KORUS) Free Trade Agreement, which has been in effect since March 2012. The president had earlier called for the United States to withdraw from the agreement, but shifted his stance to amending KORUS after receiving push back from industry and officials within his own administration.
   The United States and South Korea convened two specials sessions of the KORUS Joint Committee, which were held on Aug. 22, 2017 and Oct. 4, 2017.
   One of the key goals for the KORUS amendments for the United States is to reduce its trade deficit with South Korea.
   USTR said U.S. exports to South Korea in 2016 were valued at $42.3 billion, less than $3.5 billion when the agreement was signed in 2011, a decline of 2.7 percent. U.S. imports of South Korean goods, on the other hand, rose nearly $20 billion over the same period.
   From 2011 to 2016, the U.S. trade deficit in goods with South Korea more than doubled, rising from $13.2 billion to $27.6 billion.
   Another key area which U.S. trade negotiators are expected to focus on is the auto sector. The U.S. deficit in the autos sector is $24 billion, an increase of 77 percent since 2011 and accounting for about 90 percent of the total $27.6 billion goods deficit in 2016, USTR said.