JEAIL > Volume 12(1); 2019 > Regional Focus & Controversies
Research Paper
Published online: May 30, 2019
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2019.12.1.07

The 2018 US-Korea FTA Revision: From the US Perspective

Binwu Qin & Rajesh Sharma
Senior Lecturer at Criminology & Justice Dept. of RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia; Honorary Professor of Xiangtan University, 411 Swanston Street, Melbourne-3000, VIC, Australia.
Corresponding Author: Rajesh.Sharma@rmit.edu.au

ⓒ Copyright YIJUN Institute of International Law
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract
The US-Korea FTA, in its initial days of negotiation saw severe protests by public and political turmoil in Seoul. After crossing several procedural hoops and political hurdles in parliaments of both countries it became effective in 2012, though it was signed in 2007. At that time, it was considered by the US a ‘model agreement’ which could open opportunities for the US exporters in the Korean market. However, only couple of years later, the Trump administration called this FTA a ‘horrible’ deal that has ‘destroyed’ America. Thus, the Trump administration wanted to scrap the FTA. After considering the political implications of such action, the US government decided to re-negotiate the FTA so that the US concerns are addressed. In a short period of negotiation, both sides agreed to the revised terms of the FTA which has become effective from January 1, 2019. This paper analyses outcomes of the revised US-Korea FTA, 2018 from the US perspective and evaluate if all concerns of the US are met.

Keywords : US-Korea FTA, KORUS, Truck Tariffs, Automobile Exports in Korea, ISDS, Customs Principles, Pharmaceutical Reimbursements

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