4 months after FTA, Korea benefiting more than US

Since the implementation of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement March 15, Korea has benefited from the accord as Korea’s trade surplus and exports to the U.S. have increased.

According to statistics released Wednesday by the U.S. Commerce Department, the U.S. imported from Korea 24.69 billion U.S. dollars worth of goods and services in the first five months of this year, up 8.1 percent from a year earlier. The U.S. imported Korean goods and services worth 5.48 billion dollars in May, nearly the same as the previous month.

U.S. exports to Korea hit 3.37 billion dollars in May, down 10.9 percent from a year earlier and 6.4 percent less from the previous month this year. The U.S. trade deficit with Korea hit 2 billion dollars in the same month alone, up 13 percent from the previous month and 53.5 percent more from a year earlier.

Korea has fared well in bilateral trade with the U.S. since the implementation of the deal. According to the Korean Strategy and Finance Ministry last month, U.S. exports decreased 2.5 percent in the first three months after the accord`s implementation from a year earlier. By contrast, Korean shipments to the U.S. jumped 8.4 percent over the same period, led by automotive parts and petroleum products.

Considering the decline of Korean exports to Europe and China, two of the world’s three largest markets, trade with the U.S. has been a buffer for Korea amid the global economic crisis caused by the eurozone.

In May, Korea had the eighth-highest trade surplus with the U.S., after China, Japan, Mexico, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Ireland and Canada.

jarrett@donga.com