Trump, ROK president sign free-trade pact

The signing of a renegotiated free-trade agreement between the US and the Republic of Korea is spurring optimism that export markets for American farm goods won't shut down and may even expand.

US President Donald Trump and his ROK counterpart Moon Jae-in signed the agreement Monday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the first major trade deal the US president has forged amid rising trade tensions.

It's welcome news for US farmers worried that the closing of export markets, especially China, will heighten the impact of low prices due to expanding supplies of corn, soybeans, beef, pork and chicken.

The ROK is the sixth-largest export market for US agriculture, buying $6.9 billion worth of farm goods last year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. The free-trade agreement with the two countries has helped make South Korea the second-largest importer of US beef after Japan by sales. US pork exports have also risen.

"Renewal of our trade deal with South Korea is muchneeded good news and help for our farmers and ranchers as the agricultural economy struggles," Zippy Duvall, the federation's president, said in a statement Monday. "Securing export markets for our products is critical, and we encourage the administration to continue to push for conclusion of other trade agreements."

Those include pacts with China, Mexico and Canada and looking to rejoin the Trans-

Pacific Partnership, an agreement Trump pulled the US out of as soon as he took office. The so-called TPP agreement would boost US agricultural exports by $4 billion per year, according to the federation.

"I am optimistic that the dominoes will continue to fall: KORUS, then a new NAFTA, and new agreements with the European Union, Japan, and, most notably, China," Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a statement on Monday.

The ceremony in New York on Monday represented key progress for proponents of free trade between the partners, as Trump last year reportedly planned to withdraw from the pact, which came into effect in 2012. Trump during his election campaign called the original agreement a "jobs killer" and complained its terms had contributed to America's growing trade deficit.

As part of his push to rebalance global trade in America's favor, the president is also negotiating changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement and is pressuring China to lower its barriers to American products. NAFTA negotiations are ongoing, while there are few signs of progress with Beijing.

Reuters - Bloomberg