The Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI), utilizing data provided by the Trade Partnership Worldwide, LLC (Washington, D.C.), demonstrates the important role Korea plays in the economic livelihood of each individual Congressional district, including the number of jobs directly or indirectly created or sustained by exports to Korea. The details behind the methodology of the statistics can be found on the website of the Trade Partnership (www.tradepartnership.com).
In 2011, Congress passed and the President signed into law the Korea-U.S. (KORUS) Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which became operational in March 2012. On that date, 80 percent of U.S. exports to South Korea of consumer and industrial products immediately became duty-free. Its renegotiation in 2018 altered terms relating to US auto exports to Korea, pharmaceutical pricing, and corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards, while the 25 percent tariff on Korean light truck imports to the United States was extended through 2041. In 2023, U.S. exports of both merchandise goods and services to the Republic of Korea (ROK) were $87.8 billion.