ID :
199250
Fri, 08/05/2011 - 08:39
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/199250
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S. Korea's economy to grow 5.66 pct more on FTA with U.S.
SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Yonhap) -- A free trade agreement (FTA) signed with the United States will help South Korea's economy expand by more than 5 percent in the long term as it will lead to more exports by reducing trade barriers, a report showed Friday.
The Korea-U.S. FTA, known as KORUS FTA, was signed in 2007 but the deal was supplemented in late December with minor modifications that mostly dealt with the auto industry. The agreement has been awaiting approval from the legislatures of the two countries.
According to the report jointly compiled by 10 local state-run think tanks including the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, South Korea will see its gross domestic product expand by an additional 5.66 percent in the long term thanks to the free trade deal with the U.S.
Expanding trade, improving productivity and other positive effects on the nation's economic structure will lead to the GDP growth, the report noted. The forecast, however, was lower than the 5.97 percent expansion predicted in a similar report in 2007.
The FTA will likely boost job creation, the report said. The deal will create about 350,000 jobs, helping ease tightened labor market conditions here. Previously, they predicted 336,000 jobs would be created.
The revision is based on the latest analysis model adopted to measure the impact of the free trade deal on South Korea's economy, the think tanks said. They also used updated industry data and economic conditions from 2006 to 2008, replacing previous figures from 2003 to 2005.
The think tanks predicted that South Korea will see its trade surplus with the U.S. increase by US$140 million annually over the next 15 years after the FTA goes into effect. This is much lower than the previous forecast of $415 million.
The nation's total global trade surplus, however, will expand by an annual average of $2.77 billion, up from $2.12 billion in the previous projection, they noted.
The Korea-U.S. FTA, known as KORUS FTA, was signed in 2007 but the deal was supplemented in late December with minor modifications that mostly dealt with the auto industry. The agreement has been awaiting approval from the legislatures of the two countries.
According to the report jointly compiled by 10 local state-run think tanks including the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, South Korea will see its gross domestic product expand by an additional 5.66 percent in the long term thanks to the free trade deal with the U.S.
Expanding trade, improving productivity and other positive effects on the nation's economic structure will lead to the GDP growth, the report noted. The forecast, however, was lower than the 5.97 percent expansion predicted in a similar report in 2007.
The FTA will likely boost job creation, the report said. The deal will create about 350,000 jobs, helping ease tightened labor market conditions here. Previously, they predicted 336,000 jobs would be created.
The revision is based on the latest analysis model adopted to measure the impact of the free trade deal on South Korea's economy, the think tanks said. They also used updated industry data and economic conditions from 2006 to 2008, replacing previous figures from 2003 to 2005.
The think tanks predicted that South Korea will see its trade surplus with the U.S. increase by US$140 million annually over the next 15 years after the FTA goes into effect. This is much lower than the previous forecast of $415 million.
The nation's total global trade surplus, however, will expand by an annual average of $2.77 billion, up from $2.12 billion in the previous projection, they noted.
