FTA: United States and Republic of Korea
Opportunities for Agriculture

Removing trade barriers between the United States and the Republic of Korea will create important new export opportunities for U.S. farmers, ranchers and processors.

• Korea is a major global market for agricultural products. In 2004, Korea imported $10.6 billion in agricultural products to satisfy the demand from its 48 million increasingly affluent consumers.

• Despite its restrictive import policies for many commodities, in recent years, Korea has been among the top markets for U.S. exporters. In 2004, U.S. exporters shipped $2.5 billion in agricultural products to Korea, supplying about one fourth of Korea’s agricultural imports.

• Reflecting the diversity of Korea’s import demands, the United States supplied a wide range of agricultural products in 2004, including corn ($547 million), soybeans ($284 million), wheat ($231 million), processed foods including confectionary ($216 million), cotton ($157 million), fresh citrus ($98 million), nuts ($40 million) and fruit juices ($25 million).

• In prior years, Korea was a major market for U.S. beef. U.S. exporters supplied nearly $790 million in beef and beef offals in 2003. The recently announced initial import protocol is an important step toward re-opening Korea’s market to U.S. beef.

• Korea maintains high import tariffs on many products. An FTA will give U.S. exporters expanded access by removing restrictions due to Korea’s import policies as well as providing a competitive advantage over other suppliers.

Korea: List of Selective Commodities with High Import Duties (2004)

Product	Applied Tariff
Beef and offals	8% to 40%
Pork, pork cuts and offals	18% to 30%
Poultry meat	18% to 27%
Skim Milk Powder	176% over-quota tariff
Whey	49.5%
Cheeses	36%
Fresh Potatoes	30%
Tree Nuts	8% to 45%
Oranges	50%
Apples, Grapes, Pears, Cherries	45%
Fresh Tomatoes	45%
Popcorn	630% over-quota tariff
Feed corn	328% over-quota tariff
Potato Flakes and Flour	304% over-quota tariff
Soybeans	Greater of 487% or 956 won/kg over-quota tariff
Peanuts	230.5% over-quota tariff
Fruit Juices	30% to 54%
Confectionary	8% to 40%