SMALL COUNTRY, BIG OPPORTUNITIES
From consumer electronics to autos, it is home to some of the most competitive and famous companies in the world. A shaper of global pop culture, it is also heavily engaged in the international trade system. Korea, for example, is the fifth-largest U.S. trade partner and the third-largest partner for the Los Angeles area.
- The L.A. area by itself accounts for a fifth of total U.S.-Korea trade activity – the highest level of any U.S. region. Exports of food products and aircraft engines and parts lead the way, along with motor vehicle parts.
- The U.S.-Korea free trade agreement, which went into effect in March 2012, has markedly increased U.S.-Korea trade levels.
- The Korean economy is moving toward more technology and capital-intensive industries, creating opportunities for U.S. companies in the fields of life sciences (medical instruments, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology), aerospace and defense, environmental technology and nanotechnology.