Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 9/25/18



President Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have signed a revised version of the United States-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), and the red meat industry welcomed the good news.

Under the original KORUS, most U.S. pork products now enter Korea duty-free and that remains unchanged.
The duty rate on U.S. beef has been reduced to 21.3 percent from 40 percent, and will continue to decline each year until it is eliminated by 2026.

The U.S. benefits from having a free-trade agreement with South Korea in place before other exporters’ FTAs with the country are due to go into effect.

“Signing of the revised KORUS agreement is reassuring news for the U.S. beef and pork industries. The market access terms secured in the original KORUS not only helped increase U.S. red meat's market share in South Korea, but also bolstered consumption by making our beef and pork products more affordable and accessible to Korean consumers,” said U.S. Meat Export Federation President Dan Halstrom, in a statement.

The United States is the largest supplier of beef to Korea and trails only the European Union as the second-largest pork supplier, USMEF noted. U.S. red meat exports to Korea set a record last year of $1.7 billion, up 19 percent year-over-year and up 69 percent from 2012, when KORUS first entered into force.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said, “[It] is a better deal for the entire United States economy, including the agricultural sector. This represents an important improvement in trade relations between our two nations, building on long-standing cooperation we have enjoyed.”

Perdue went on to say that the agreement “adds to the momentum building for President Trump’s approach to trade,” and said he expected a “new NAFTA” and new trade arrangements with the EU, Japan and China.

The National Pork Producers Council said in a statement that it was “pleased with the outcome of the renegotiations, with the new deal having little impact on agriculture. Most U.S. pork will continue to flow to South Korea with no tariff.”

Last year, the United States shipped $475 million of pork to South Korea – a 30 percent increase over 2016 – making it the No. 5 U.S. pork export market, NPPC said.

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