South Korea's exports to the United States rose more than 5 percent per year on average over the past decade thanks to the 2012 bilateral free trade agreement, compared with a 1.5 percent increase in the country's overall exports, a think tank said Monday.

South Korea's shipments to the US jumped to $96.3 billion in 2021 from $56.4 billion in 2011, marking a yearly 5.5 percent growth on average, according to the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy.

During the period, the country's overall exports inched up 1.5 percent on-year from $555.2 billion to 644.4 billion.

By sector, shipments of the chemicals, steel and auto sectors to the US have showed marked growth thanks to the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, with sales of high-tech industries surging more than 50 percent, the think tank said.

Imports from the US also advanced 5 percent on average per year to $73.2 billion in 2021, compared with 1.6 percent growth of South Korea's overall imports during the 2011-2021 period.

South Korea's trade surplus with the US rose to $19.3 billion per year on average during the 2012-2021 period, compared with a yearly average of $9.3 billion logged from 2007-2011, the data showed.

"In 10 years, the KORUS FTA had served as a key tool for the two nations to expand bilateral trade and investment and to ensure stable supply chains," Roh Keon-ki, Seoul's deputy minister for trade negotiations, said during a KIEP seminar.

"The two nations should further deepen the alliance in terms of economy, supply chains, and advanced technologies," he added. (Yonhap)