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Trade Diversion and Trade Deficits: The Case of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement

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  • Russ, Katheryn N.
  • Swenson, Deborah L.

Abstract

We study whether tariff preferences conferred on South Korean goods through the implementation of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) drew U.S. import demand away from other U.S. trading partners through the phenomenon known as trade diversion. In the two years following the implementation of KORUS, trade diversion was particularly strong for U.S. imports of consumption goods and for trade partners who already had free trade agreements with the U.S. Our estimates of trade diversion sum to $13.1 billion in 2013 and $13.8 billion in 2014. Notably, these estimates of trade diversion are roughly of the same magnitude as the increase in the U.S. bilateral goods trade deficit with South Korea. Thus, while increased U.S. imports from South Korea may have increased the U.S.-South Korea bilateral trade deficit, the fact that KORUS diverted U.S. import demand away from other trading partners implies new U.S. imports from Korea stimulated by the KORUS did not expand the overall U.S. trade deficit.

Suggested Citation

  • Russ, Katheryn N. & Swenson, Deborah L., 2019. "Trade Diversion and Trade Deficits: The Case of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 22-31.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jjieco:v:52:y:2019:i:c:p:22-31
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jjie.2019.02.001
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    2. Abdulkareem Alhassan & Cem Payaslioğlu, 2024. "Trade Diversion and Creation Effect of Free Trade Agreements in ASEAN: Do Institutions Matter?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 917-935, March.
    3. Chun, Hyunbae & Hur, Jung & Son, Nyeong Seon, 2021. "Global value chains and servicification of manufacturing: Evidence from firm-level data," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
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    5. Lee, Dongyeol, 2021. "Propagation of economic shocks through vertical and trade linkages in Korea: An empirical analysis," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    6. Karin Mayr-Dorn & Gaia Narciso & Duc Anh Dang & Hien Phan, 2023. "Trade diversion and labor market adjustment: Vietnam and the U.S.-China trade war," Trinity Economics Papers tep0923, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics.
    7. Simone Cigna & Philipp Meinen & Patrick Schulte & Nils Steinhoff, 2022. "The impact of US tariffs against China on US imports: Evidence for trade diversion?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(1), pages 162-173, January.
    8. Yi, Chae-Deug, 2020. "The computable general equilibrium analysis of the reduction in tariffs and non-tariff measures within the Korea-Japan-European Union free trade agreement," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    9. Chae‐Deug Yi, 2022. "Economic impacts of UK's free trade agreements with Korea, Japan, and EU as a breakthrough of Brexit," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 90(5), pages 541-564, September.
    10. Yoon Heo & Nguyen Khanh Doanh, 2020. "Is NAFTA Trade‐Creating or Trade‐Diverting? A System GMM Approach," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 39(3), pages 222-238, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement; KORUS; Preferential trade agreements; Trade imbalances; Trade diversion;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General

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