South Korea’s investment in the United States is estimated to have reached a five-year high in 2016 while U.S investment to Asia’s fourth largest economy dwindled 30 percent over the same period, a data Seoul could use to argue against any charges from the Washington administration under Donald Trump about imbalances in bilateral trade.

According to data released by Korea International Trade Association on Wednesday, Korea’s new investment in the U.S. recorded $6.94 billion in the first nine months of 2016. Even excluding fourth-quarter investment that is yet to be compiled, it is the highest-ever investment since 2011 when it reached $7.31 billion.

Korea’s investment in the U.S. has expanded for two straight years, rising from $5.59 billion in 2014 to $5.66 billion in 2015 and $6.94 billion between January and September in 2016. The number of investment projects registered with the government also has been on the steady rise, growing from 1,163 cases in 2013 to 1,374 cases in 2014 and 1,450 cases in 2015. The figure for 2016 is expected to match that of 2015 as the total of 1,169 investments in the U.S. were reported for the first nine months of last year.

The U.S. investment in Korea, however, contracted nearly 30 percent to $3.88 billion in full 2016 from $5.48 billion in 2015, according to the government’s data. New U.S investment in the country that hovered around the $2 billion range in 2010 and 2011 following the 2007-2008 global financial crisis turned higher to $5.48 billion in 2015, but it sank again last year. The number of investments also fell 4.4 percent to 373 cases in 2016 from 390 in 2015.

The imbalance in investment is expected to continue under “American First” agenda of Trump who has been complaining of toll on U.S. economy from free trade deals and signaled revisiting the terms on bilateral free trade deal with South Korea claiming it has wiped out 100,000 jobs in the U.S.

Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor Co. last month pledged to make $3.1 billion capital investment in the U.S. over the next five years, and electronics makers LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics are mulling to construct home appliance plants in the U.S.

By Kim Jung-hwan

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