After more than three years at the negotiation table, the United States and South Korea reached an agreement in bi-lateral free trade talks. The U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement represents an ocean of opportunity for both parties involved.

For the United States, the agreement will result in increased jobs, exports and benefits to the economy while Korean consumers will for the first time have more access to American goods. The free trade pact is especially good news for U.S. producers who will benefit from the agreement as the United States enjoys a 70 percent market share of Korea’s 8.6 million metric ton feed grains import market.

“Korea is an important market for U.S. grains exports, benefiting U.S. producers of barley, corn, sorghum and their co-products,� said U.S. Grains Council Chairman Terry Vinduska. “During the first nine months of this calendar year, Korea imported 373,000 tons of U.S. distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), a co-product of U.S. ethanol production – that is a 47 percent increase over the same time period of the previous year.�

The passage of this agreement will be critical to ensuring the United States’ dominant market share in the face of competition from other sources. From DDGS to corn imports for food use, Korea has been an important customer of U.S. producers. In addition to large imports of DDGS and feed grains, Korea also imported corn for food and industrial use, showing a 53.5 percent increase on a year-to-year basis at 1.6 million tons.

“The U.S. Grains Council looks forward to continuing the strong trade relationship with the buyers of our products in Korea,� Vinduska said, adding that the agreement is a win-win scenario for all involved. “We hope it cements the critical role of trade in achieving economic goals in the United States,� he said.