As the new ROK and U.S. administrations interact and deal with each other, both sides must avoid “unforced errors” and cooperate with each other as much as possible to confront domestic and international trends that place impediments on both economies.

On April 20, 2017, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum for the Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, directing him to conduct a “Section 232” investigation into the national security implications of steel imports.

Recent statistics released by the Foreign Trade Division of the U.S. Census Bureau show an improvement in the trade balance with South Korea in favor of the United States.

U.S. services exports to Korea hit a record level of $21.55 billion in 2016, which contributed to producing the highest trade surplus in services ($10.7 billion) for the United States in the history of U.S.-South Korea trade relations.

Last week, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released the President’s National Trade Policy Agenda for 2017.

While the overall U.S. trade deficit in merchandise goods with the world increased by $1.9 billion or 0.4 percent, the bilateral trade deficit between the U.S. and South Korea declined by $647 million or 2.3 percent.