Contrary to some media reports, Sunkist Growers' senior vice president Mike Wootton is actually in favour of the US/Korea free trade agreement (FTA).
There had been reports Mr Wootton was unhappy with the terms of the deal, in particular the 50 per cent permanent duty on US oranges shipped to Korea.
However, Fruitnet.com now understands Mr Wootton's comments in the press were taken out of context, and overall he is very much in favour of the US/Korea FTA.
"Sunkist strongly commends the Obama Administration for moving forward with the US/Korea FTA and strongly supports Congress' approval," he said.
"While we are disappointed with the terms of the orange tariff, we do benefit from a phase out of duties on lemons and grapefruit.
"This FTA broadly benefits US agricultural exports, and that is very positive," Mr Wootton said.
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