South Korea may lift its ban on US beef from cattle over 30 months old, using the move as a potential bargaining chip to defuse looming "reciprocal" tariffs from Washington, according to sources on Tuesday.
Amid stalled trade talks with the US over 25 percent tariffs set to take effect Aug. 1, Korea appears increasingly willing to relent on the non-tariff barrier.
“We’re under heavy pressure to scrap the age limit on US beef, and it’s becoming harder to hold the line,” a government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Last week, US President Donald Trump sent a tariff-focused letter to Korea, addressed to President Lee Jae Myung, calling the duties necessary “to correct the many years of Korea’s Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers,” and pressing for meaningful progress on trade grievances.
The beef age rule is among key non-tariff barriers the US has pushed to eliminate, alongside restrictions on rice imports and high-resolution mapping data exports. Washington has characterized the restriction as an outdated trade barrier that places unnecessary costs and burdens on American exporters.
Korea and the US agreed to limit imports in 2008, only allowing beef from cattle under 30 months old, in an effort to ease public fears over bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease.
Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, who traveled to Washington on July 5 for six days of tariff talks, signaled that agricultural concessions could be on the table, saying Korea had entered “a period of decisions and strategic choices.”
“There are areas we must protect,” Yeo said at a press conference Monday, “but also areas where we can be flexible.” He emphasized that agricultural issues require strategic judgment, adding, “We must protect sensitive sectors, but also take into account the broader framework of the negotiations.”
Even so, US beef remains a fraught issue, with domestic farmers warning of market disruption.
The Hanwoo Association, a nonprofit representing Korea’s beef industry, lashed out at the government over its potential easing of the ban, calling it a betrayal of local cattle farmers.
“While other industries have grown on the back of sacrifices from the agricultural sector, farming and livestock have continued to decline," the association said in a statement Tuesday. “Among them, the hanwoo industry has suffered the most, but what has the government done so far?”
The group noted that Korea imported 221,629 tons of US beef last year, nearly half of the country’s total beef imports of 461,027 tons. “With tariffs set to fall to zero next year, American beef will become even more price-competitive and capture a larger share of the market," they argued.
minmin@heraldcorp.com
