USA, Denver, Co. USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom issued the following statement after the signing of KORUS.
Signing of the revised KORUS agreement is reassuring news for the US beef and pork industries. The market access terms secured in the original KORUS not only helped increase US red meat’s market share in South Korea, but also bolstered consumption by making our beef and pork products more affordable and accessible to Korean consumers.
Under KORUS, most US pork products now enter Korea duty-free. The duty rate on US beef has been reduced from 40% to 21.3% and will continue to decline each year until it is eliminated by 2026. All major red meat competitors also now have free trade agreements with Korea, but the US has benefited from KORUS being implemented earlier than most of these FTAs, providing the U.S. with a head start on tariff elimination.