The office of the trade representative said that trade in U.S.-Korea goods and services rose from US$126.5 billion in 2011 to a record $145.2 billion in 2014. (image: U.S. Department of Agriculture/flickr)
WASHINGTON, March 13 (Korea Bizwire) — The free trade agreement between the United States and South Korea has helped significantly expand American exports to the Asian nation across the board, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said Friday.
“After battling economic headwinds, our trade with Korea is expanding, American industries are gaining market-share across the range of sectors from autos and chemicals to film and telecom,” Froman said in a statement marking the third anniversary of the agreement.
The landmark pact took effect on March 15, 2012.
The office of the trade representative said that trade in U.S.-Korea goods and services rose from US$126.5 billion in 2011 to a record $145.2 billion in 2014. And the U.S.-Korea trade and investment relationship is substantially larger and stronger than in 2011.
“This past year in particular we saw a surge in U.S. goods and services being sold in Korea. We now sell over a billion dollars’ worth of U.S.-made autos in Korea, an increase of 140 percent over the last 3 years. There is, of course, much more room for growth, given how closed Korea’s market was before this agreement,” Froman said.
The Korea-U.S. FTA has also contributed to a strong and successful 2014 for American exporters, the office said, adding that the agreement is unlocking opportunity for more Americans, supporting good-paying jobs, and contributing to record overall exports of $2.35 trillion in 2014.
(Yonhap)
