Dissatisfied with the inability of high-level talks in August between U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyung-chong to set a clear path forward on renegotiating the 2011 Korea-U.S. trade pact – and frustrated with Korean negotiators counter-request for a study of factors contributing to the U.S. bilateral goods trade deficit – the Trump White House recently signaled it was considering pulling out of the six-year old deal.

News of the KORUS withdrawal threat was met with swift disapproval from congressional and business stakeholders, critical both of the substantive reasoning and tactical timing of the reported action, which came on the heels of possible nuclear escalation and increased hostilities on the Korean peninsula after North Korea’s test of what experts believe to be a hydrogen bomb. …
Continue Reading KORUS Withdrawal Threat Opposed by Congress, Private Sector