{
  "id": "97-395",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "97-395",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 103982,
      "date": "1997-03-25",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:59:12.765941",
      "title": "South Korea's Economic Reforms And U.S. Interests",
      "summary": "From the perspective of U.S. exporters and investors, gaining fair and effective access to South\nKorea's market is part of a broader problem of doing business in an economy that limits the role of\nmarket forces. Extensive government intervention and regulation of economic activity, non-\ntransparent and often discriminatory bureaucratic actions, and a strong drive for autonomy all make\nSouth Korea one of the most difficult markets in the world to do business in. To the extent that the\nSouth Korean government implements economic reforms that expose more segments of its economy\nto market forces, the sources of U.S.-South Korean trade tensions are likely to dissipate.\n  Over time, South Korea appears likely to implement fundamental economic reforms in order to\nbolster its international competitiveness. But the recent, dramatic drop in President Kim Young Sam's\npopularity, combined with the politics of a presidential election in December 1997, have all but\neliminated the possibility of new reform initiatives this year. \n  A loss of momentum for reform, in turn, has varied implications for U.S.-Korean economic\nrelations. Some past reforms that have facilitated increases in U.S. exports (primarily of capital\ngoods, and raw materials) and investment should not be affected. Coupled with falling South Korean\ncompetitiveness, the recent U.S. trade surplus with South Korea should persist. But little or no\nprogress in liberalizing other sectors of Korea's economy that are of considerable interest to U.S.\nbusiness (particularly consumer goods and finished manufactures that compete directly against\nKorean-made products) can be anticipated, and backsliding in other areas is also possible. As a result,\n1997 may witness an increase in U.S.- South Korean trade tensions.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/97-395",
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}