On The Korea-US Free Trade Agreement And Its Impact On China

Among all the FTAs that have been signed in Asia, the FTA between SouthKorea and the US is the largest one. The FTA negotiation between South Korea andthe US started on6th Feb.2006, and effect on15th Mar.2012.They actively push thenegotiation of the FTA for a profound political and economical reason. South Koreahopes to increase the competitiveness in the US market, and in the mean while, toenhance the S.Korea-US economical alliance to balance the political differencesbetween the two countries, and therefore to strengthen its political status in Asia. TheUS hopes that the FTA can help its economy recovery and put more influence in Asia.However, why did take so long from signing to becoming effective? The reasonis that the negotiation had gone through a lot of pressure in both countriesdomestically. In every international negotiation, a country is not a single individual,but a combination of some groups which are administrations, legislatives and socialinterest groups. These three aspects have an impact on the process of the negotiation.And also, the improvement of the relationship between China and S.Korea, andcooperation in the East Asia region have all threatened the leading role of the US inEast Asia. The Obama administration has positively adjusted the United States’globalstrategy, moving back to East Asia. Pushing the FTA is also one of its important stepsof the new strategy.FTA between the US and South Korea will deeply affect themselves。 For SouthKorea, it will promote its export, providing new jobs, but agriculture will be affectedby the FTA a lot. For the US, the car industry, financial industry and agriculture willbenefit a lot from the FTA, more jobs will be provided. In a word, it will improve thecompetitiveness of both countries, increase bilateral trade, and further strengthen theS.Korea-US alliance. But, FTA will also weaken the competitiveness of the China’sproduce, and eventually weaken its influence in East Asia.