Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun, second from left, speaks during a meeting of private and public sectors to discuss countermeasures against the United States tariff threats at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's office in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

Beef seems to be the latest trade item in the U.S. pressure on Korea, following steel, semiconductors and vehicles, as a U.S. beef association is seeking help from the Donald Trump administration to make Korea ease its regulations on beef imports and allow more American beef.

Such requests from U.S. interest groups are expected to weigh on the Korean government and relevant industries amid Trump's moves to levy heavy tariffs on specific imports and reciprocal tariffs for all goods.

The request was known to the public on Tuesday (local time), a day before the U.S. imposed 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, which also impact Korea's steelmakers.

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) proposed to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) that Korea should start importing U.S. beef regardless of what age they were at the time of slaughter. The proposal targeted the Korean government's ban on importing American beef from cattle aged 30 months or older. The ban derives from the Seoul-Washington agreement in 2008 when fears over mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, swept Korea and the Korean public's animosity against U.S. beef surged.

The NCBA's proposal came after the USTR had requested the association to “assist in reviewing and identifying unfair trade practices and initiating all necessary actions to investigate harm from nonreciprocal arrangements.”

“The U.S. has some of the most rigorous standards and highest safeguards concerning bovine spongiform encephalopathy,” the NCBA said. “"And we should pursue consultations with Korea to discuss removing the age restriction and strengthening science-based trade between our countries.”

The NCBA pointed to the growth of U.S. beef sales in Korea as evidence that consumer confidence has improved significantly since 2008. Korea currently imports the world's largest volume of U.S. beef.

“We recognize the 30-month age-based restriction on U.S. beef is a sensitive issue in Korea but it is an issue that should not be ignored. Similar 30-month restrictions have been lifted in China, Japan and Taiwan because they recognize the safety and quality of U.S. beef,” the association said.

Packaged American beef cuts are displayed at a supermarket in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

Regarding the NCBA's proposal, Korea's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson Jeon Han-young said it was not an official request from the U.S. government and does not require the Korean authority's immediate response.

Jeon said the bilateral agreement doesn't need changes unless there are any meaningful changes to the current trading environment regarding U.S. beef.

"The agreement had come into force after the mad cow disease scandal erupted here following the opening of U.S. beef imports. Has U.S. beef been proven safer since then or has there been any scientific finding that meant a critical change to quality of imported U.S. beef? No. There are no reasons yet for us to renegotiate that bilateral deal," Jeon said.

A local media outlet here also reported that the U.S. government had proposed to Korea's Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun that Korea import more living modified organism (LMO) potatoes from the U.S. during the minister's visit to Washington in late March.

The trade ministry, however, on Wednesday denied the speculation, saying they never discussed LMO potatoes with the U.S. government during Ahn's U.S. visit.

Amid the growing trade pressure from the U.S., the ministry held a meeting with relevant government agencies, industries and business associations to come up with strategies for the tariff schemes, entering into a full emergency response mode.

In the meeting, Ahn said the government will strengthen communication with local industries, and arrange meetings between senior trade officials from Seoul and Washington for negotiations.

The participants also discussed measures to minimize the impact on Korean companies of the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Korea was the fourth-largest exporter of steel to the U.S. last year, accounting for 9 percent of its total steel imports, and the fourth-largest exporter of aluminum, accounting for 4 percent, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration.

Korean cattle ranchers said they oppose importing U.S. beef aged 30 months or older.

"The National Assembly and government must prioritize Korean farmers' living rights and citizens' public health although the U.S. government were to make such a proposal, " the Hanwoo Association said in a statement.

It worried that if U.S. beef is imported to the Korean retail market, consumers' mistrust on beef will spread beyond American beef but to Korean beef, impacting the country's entire beef industry.

According to the association, Korean cattle ranchers have been seeing slumping sales for the past four years. "If the Korean authorities adopt the U.S. beef import proposal, we will start counteracting," the organization said.