U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement: Effects on U.S. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.

摘要

With the entry into force of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on March 15, 2012, a very large share of U.S. exports of consumer and industrial products were eligible for duty-free entry into the Republic of Korea (Korea), as the number of Korea's tariff lines providing immediate duty-free access for U.S. exports increased from 13 percent to 80 percent. In addition, the FTA increases market access commitments in major services sectors and includes provisions for addressing nontariff measures as well as trade-related issues such as labor, environment, and competition policy. This report examines the FTA's effects on exports by U.S. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for a significant share of U.S. exports both in general and to Korea. To provide information for the report, SMEs were queried about their experiences thus far in exporting to Korea under the FTA. A small number of companies provided the requested information, with responses coming from firms in diverse sectors of the economy, including agriculture (wine, tree fruit, potatoes, hay), manufacturing (tool and die, aircraft parts), and services (media, software).