South Korea Says No to KORUS Talks

South Korean officials say the U.S. and Korea have not reached an agreement on possible revisions to KORUS.  A South Korea news agency reports that the nation’s top negotiator said there were differences between the U.S. and South Korea regarding the trade deal, but declined to elaborate.  A meeting this week between South Korea and U.S. Trade Represented Robert Lighthizer followed a request for the meeting by the U.S. to consider possible amendments and modifications to KORUS.

The bilateral open trade pact went into effect in 2012 and has widely been considered a symbol of deepening economic ties, but President Donald Trump has vowed to fix or scrap the free trade deal, calling it "horrible."

Tami Overby, senior vice president for Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said last week that the free trade deal cannot be blamed for Washington's trade deficit with South Korea, claiming the losses would have been "significantly higher" without the deal.

Korea is currently the fifth largest U.S. agricultural export market.

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