South Korea's exports to the United States jumped 11.3 percent for two months right after the implementation of the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA), a customs data showed Sunday.
Shipments to the United States reached 11.18 billion U.S. dollars over the period between March 15 and May 14, up 11.3 percent from the same period of last year, according to Korea Customs Service (KCS). The free trade deal was effective in March 15.
Over the cited period, imports from the United States grew 2 percent to 7.73 billion dollars, sending the trade surplus with the United States to 3.45 billion dollars that accounted for around 80 percent of the total surplus of 4.4 billion dollars.
The customs office said that the country's overall exports contracted over the cited period due to economic slowdown in China and Europe's debt crisis, but it noted that shipments to the United States showed a stable growth trend.
By item, auto parts exports to the United States expanded 15 percent over the same period due to immediate elimination of tariffs for the products, while auto shipments jumped 31 percent helped by expectations for future growth despite the delayed cut in customs duties.
Exports of petroleum products and construction machinery surged 42 percent and 119 percent respectively, but shipments of telecommunication devices and semiconductors shrank 40 percent and 13 percent each.
Imports of chips and semiconductor equipment surged 35 percent and 49 percent each over the cited period, but inbound shipments of meat contracted 13 percent due to weak demand for the U.S. beef and pork./.