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A press release from three groups representing US beef (the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

As the US government under President Donald Trump pushes to revise the South Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), it was confirmed that the US beef industry recently sent a letter to the US government stating its opposition to any changes in the KORUS FTA that would endanger the industry’s share of the South Korean market and its huge investment there.

The letter was sent on July 27 by three groups representing US beef (the National Cattlemen‘s Beef Association, the North American Meat Institute, and the US Meat Export Federation) to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. “KORUS created the ideal environment for the US beef industry to thrive in South Korea. We would not support any changes in the terms of the KORUS that would jeopardize either our market share or the significant investment that has been made in rebuilding Korean consumer confidence in the safety, quality, and consistency of US beef,” the letter said.

“Continued access to the South Korean market on the terms that were negotiated in the KORUS is essential to the future health of the US beef industry. Under KORUS, the US beef industry has seen an 82 percent increase in annual sales to South Korea, from $582 million in 2012 to $1.06 billion in 2016,” the letter said, explaining that 17% of US beef exports went to South Korea, which is now its second largest export market. As part of KORUS FTA, South Korea agreed to a tariff concession that gradually rolls back the 40% tariff on American beef.

As the Trump administration calls for a revision to the KORUS FTA, this is the first time the US beef industry has openly voiced its opposition to revising the deal. According to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), there are stark differences in how the private-sector interest groups of various American industries view the KORUS FTA. As a result, even the Trump administration is struggling to set the scope and speed of the talks. KITA’s Washington bureau reported that, during a public hearing about updating NAFTA that the USTR hosted from June 27 to 29, the National Association of Manufacturers and other groups in the steel and manufacturing sector said that the KORUS FTA had created a severe trade deficit and needed to be completely reconsidered. But groups in the farming and dairy sector, including the US Grains Council, were opposed to negotiations that could fundamentally upset the KORUS FTA, which they described as a successful agreement that was beneficial to both sides (a position similar to that held by the South Korean government).

“Even though the trade policy of the Trump administration, which has espoused ‘America first,’ prioritizes protecting domestic industry, American industries with conflicting interests are fighting a ‘battle of nerves’ as they voice contradictory opinions. This is a chaotic situation even for the Trump administration, and it’s expected to have a significant impact on both sides’ strategies for negotiating revisions to the KORUS FTA,” KITA‘s Washington bureau said.

By Cho Kye-wan, staff reporter

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