US-S Korea FTA means $10 more per pig
Western Farmer-Stockman | May 25, 2007
U.S.-S. Korea FTA Means $10 More Per Pig
Compiled By Staff
The White House has made details of the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement available to the public, and according to the National Pork Producers Council, U.S. pork producers have a lot to be happy about.
NPPC says that once the FTA is fully implemented, U.S. pork producers will get an additional $10 per pig as a result.
"This is the single most important trade agreement ever for the U.S. pork industry, and it will generate hundreds of millions of dollars in new export sales," says NPPC President Jill Appell.
The agreement, formally completed April 1, is pending approval by Congress and South Korea’s National Assembly.
Pork makes up 44% of daily meat protein consumption in South Korea, already the number four destination of U.S. pork and pork products. The current number one market is Japan, but according to Iowa State University economist Dermot Hayes, after the FTA is implemented, South Korea will be importing about twice as much U.S. pork as the amount Japan currently imports.
The deal would eliminate tariffs on all frozen and processed pork by 2014, and fresh chilled pork would be duty free 10 years after implementation.
