South Korea--U.S. Economic Relations: Cooperation, Friction, and Future Prospects

摘要

South Korea is a major economic partner for the United States. Korea is the United States' seventh-largest trading partner -- ahead of Western European countries such as France and Italy -- and its sixth-largest export market. Korea also has become a significant investment site for American companies, which have poured nearly $20 billion into the country over the past 7 years. In 2003, the U.S. was Korea's largest trading partner, and its second- largest export market, source of imports, and supplier of foreign direct investment (FDI). Increased economic interaction has been accompanied by numerous disagreements over trade policies. The intensity of the disputes has diminished considerably since the late 1980s and early 1990s, in part because South Korea has enacted a set of sweeping market-oriented reforms as a quid pro quo for receiving a $58 billion package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) following the near collapse of the its economy in 1997. In recent years, the United States and South Korea appear to have become more adept at managing their trade disputes, so that they tend to be less acrimonious than they were in the 1980s and 1990s. This is due in part to the quarterly, working-level bilateral trade meetings that were first held in early 2001. This report summarizes the main issues in U.S.-South Korean economic relations, including South Korea's economic prospects and economic reforms, and major bilateral economic disputes. The report will be updated periodically.