Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 4/28/17


President Donald Trump told the Washington Post he is contemplating renegotiating or pulling out of the U.S. free trade agreement with South Korea, an agreement in place since 2011 that has benefited U.S. beef and pork exporters.

During an interview Thursday night, Trump told the Post the FTA was a “horrible deal” that left America “destroyed,” adding, “We’ve told them that we’ll either terminate or negotiate. We may terminate.”

Industry observers are taking a “wait and see” position on the president’s comments, given Trump’s recent reversal on the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he is now looking to renegotiate rather than withdraw from, much to the relief of the U.S. meat industry, which counts Mexico and Canada as two of its largest trading partners.  

According to the Post, newly confirmed Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue was among the advisors who convinced Trump to change his mind on NAFTA, even bringing a map into the oval office to show him that many of the areas that would be hardest hit by agriculture and manufacturing losses were in states and counties that had voted him into office.
The Korea-U.S. FTA has also been an important factor in expanding beef and pork exports to South Korea.

Beef
For U.S. beef, the duty rate has already declined to 24 percent from 40 percent, and will go to zero by 2026. The United States was the first major beef supplier to reach an FTA with South Korea, providing U.S. beef with a tariff rate advantage over beef from countries that entered FTAs with Korea more recently, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

Australia entered an FTA with South Korea in December 2014, Canada entered one in January 2015 and New Zealand in December 2015.

Beef entering Korea from countries that do not have an FTA is still subject to the original 40 percent duty.

Pork
Duties on nearly all U.S. pork products entering Korea have already been eliminated under the Korea-U.S. FTA.
Korea’s imported pork market is extremely competitive with the European Union, the United States, Chile, Canada and Mexico all battling for market share, explained USMEF spokesman Joe Schuele.

Chile was the first pork supplier to have a free trade agreement with Korea, so all of its pork now enters Korea duty-free. Duties on nearly all products from the EU have also been eliminated through its FTA with Korea, which entered into force in 2011. The Canada-Korea FTA took effect at the beginning of 2015; so Canadian pork will not be duty-free for a few more years.

“Having duty-free status for U.S. pork is essential in Korea,” said Schuele, given that Mexico is that market’s only significant pork supplier that does not have an FTA.

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