SEOUL: Since the bilateral Free Trade Agreement came into effect in 2012, South Korea’s deficit in the fruit trade with the United States has been growing year after year.
The volume of imports also increased from an average 149,407 tons before the FTA to 240,915 tons last year. If vegetables are included, South Korea’s imports from the US amounted to $698 million in 2017.
Exports of fruits and vegetables to the US totalled $87 million last year, an increase of 7.8 percent from the previous year and up 51 percent from before the FTA implementation, but this number falls far behind the increase in imports. The trend resulted in a trade deficit of $544 million for the South Korean side in fruits and vegetables, doubling from $270 million before the FTA.
The US Trade Representative in March released a report on trade barriers against American goods, which cited pending market access requests to South Korea for blueberries from states other than Oregon, a wider market for cherries, and opening for US apples and pears.
