Home > Business > Economy

United States pressures Korea to lift protectionist trade practices

Published: 16 Jul. 2025, 14:46 Updated: 17 Jul. 2025, 08:34

U.S. President Donald Trump participates in the White House Faith Office Luncheon in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington on July 14. [EPA/YONHAP]

As tariff negotiations between Korea and the United States continue, Washington is stepping up demands for Seoul to ease nontariff barriers, including restrictions on agricultural and livestock imports and regulations on online platform companies.

The United States has been pressing Korea to lift what it sees as protectionist trade practices, according to a government official on Tuesday. These include Korea’s age limit restriction on imported U.S. beef, further opening of the rice market, permission to import genetically modified potatoes and looser quarantine standards on apples and other fruits.

Washington is also pushing for the relaxation of Korea’s regulations on online platform companies based in the United States, a demand it is making of other trade partners as well. Observers say the Trump administration’s focus on dismantling nontariff barriers, especially in agriculture and digital sectors, stems from the relative weakness of U.S. manufacturing.

“The United States maintains a comparative advantage in agriculture, services and defense,” said Heo Yoon, a professor at Sogang University’s Graduate School of International Studies. “It’s aiming to boost exports in these sectors to address its trade deficit.”

The United States’ manufacturing base has indeed declined over the past four decades, with a persistent trade deficit in the sector.

The surge in imports from China has led to falling wages for U.S. workers without college degrees and the loss of 3.7 million jobs between 2001 and 2018, according to a report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). U.S. foreign policy think tank Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) reported that the U.S. manufacturing employment rate dropped from 31 percent of private-sector jobs in 1970 to just 9.7 percent in 2023, with competition from China accelerating the decline.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the White House Faith Office luncheon in the State Dining Room in Washington on July 14. [AP/YONHAP]

Trump’s political base in agricultural states like Iowa and Texas is also a factor. These demands reflect his willingness to incorporate supporters’ priorities into trade policy, according to Chang Sang-sik, head of the Korea International Trade Association's International Trade and Commerce Research Center.

Experts say the Trump administration’s tough negotiation tactics, such as targeting politically sensitive markets like rice in Japan and beef in Korea, are a deliberate strategy.

“If a country agrees to open its agricultural market, the concession carries symbolic weight. If it refuses, the U.S. can push for greater compromises elsewhere,” said one trade expert.

After threatening reciprocal tariffs in April, the United States began talks with more than 20 countries, reaching agreements with Britain and Vietnam. Both offered greater access to their agricultural markets. Britain, which was the first to strike a deal, agreed to a duty-free quota of up to 13,000 tons of U.S. beef. Vietnam also offered tariff-free access for beef, pork and poultry.

But the strategy has become a stumbling block in talks with others. Negotiations with the EU, India and Mexico — once nearing conclusion — have stalled over agricultural issues. The U.S. has set tight timelines, but its counterparts require lengthy domestic consultations due to the sensitivity of the demands.

Cows are seen at a farm in Gangwon on Aug. 4, 2024. [YONHAP]

Korea faces a similar dilemma. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo on Monday suggested that Korea may need to make “strategic decisions” regarding agricultural imports, prompting strong backlash from farmers’ groups, including Korean cattle farmers that produce hanwoo, premium Korean beef.

The Hanwoo Association on Monday issued a statement criticizing the government for “treating sacrifices from the farming sector as a given” and warned that lifting the age limit on U.S. beef could revive fears of mad cow disease, shrink the beef market and hurt domestic consumption of Korean beef.

Still, some argue that removing the 30-month age limit may not have a significant impact on the domestic cattle market because loosening the policy could lead to consumer preference for U.S. beef to decrease.

“The age restriction has actually helped build consumer trust in U.S. beef,” said a Korean trade official. Korea was the top importer of U.S. beef last year, buying $940 million worth of chilled beef and $1.2 billion of frozen beef.

“If we open the market to older U.S. beef, domestic consumers may shift to Australian beef instead,” said a Ministry of Agriculture official.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KIM WON [[email protected]]