South Korea has FREE BEER — free trade beer, that is.

South Korean retailers are reporting huge jumps in imported beer sales thanks to last year's free trade agreement between Korea and Europe. That's great for Korean beer lovers, but what will U.S. agriculture companies bring to the party?

According to the South Korean retail outlet E-Mart Co., sales of European beer are up 56% year-over-year since the start of 2012. The increase is due to the European-South Korean free trade agreement that took effect in July 2011. The agreement eliminates 98.7% of industrial and agricultural trade duties over five years.

The United States and South Korea ratified a similar agreement late in 2011. The pact began to take effect in January 2012, and will eliminate 95% of tariffs between the two countries over the next five years.U.S. agriculture exporters Caterpillar ( CAT , quote ), Hormel ( HRL , quote ) and Conagra ( CAG , quote ) will gain more access to the world's 15th largest economy -- so what will they do with it?

Conagra testified before Congress in favor of the agreement. A Fortune 500 food company with sales over $12 billion, Conagra has had to deal with duties as high as 18%. Removing these duties will unlock millions of dollars in new pricing power, and the company expects exports to South Korea to surge.

Spam and other processed meats are already popular in China, and Hormel expects the Koreans to exercise similar tastes.  Hormel's international sales were up 26% in 2011.

Caterpillar has also targeted China as a growth market.  The world's biggest maker of agricultural machinery has applauded the agreement , citing the opening of foreign markets as key to economic growth and the company's strategy of increasing exports.

Not everyone is a fan, though. An opposition lawmaker threw tear gas during the ratification vote, and domestic beer sales have been falling in South Korea. Maybe that's why the models in the Cass ads look so startled.