Anchor: As Washington ramps up trade pressure on Seoul, global tariffs of 25 percent took effect for all steel and aluminum imported into the United States on Wednesday, with the elimination of the tariff-free quota. At the same time, the U.S. cattle industry is challenging restrictions on American beef imports that have been in place since 2008, when public outrage over mad cow disease led to mass candlelight rallies in the country. 
Koo Heejin has more. 

Report: The 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported into the United States went into effect as planned Wednesday, with no exemptions for any U.S. trading partners, after White House spokesman Kush Desai confirmed the information in a statement on Tuesday.

The move effectively nullifies the tariff quota deal that the U.S. and South Korea signed in 2018, under which no tariffs are charged on steel from South Korea up to a maximum of around two-point-six million tons. 

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a ten percent tariff on aluminum imports in 2018 during his first term but later granted some exemptions, including exemptions for Mexico and Canada.

According to data from the U.S. International Trade Administration, South Korea was the fourth-largest exporter of steel to the U.S. last year, accounting for some 13 percent of the country’s steel imports.

With the Trump administration stepping up its protectionist trade policies, including slapping reciprocal tariffs, nontariff barriers in South Korea and other countries will likely come under scrutiny.  

Against this background, the U.S. livestock industry has asked the U.S. government for assistance in lifting South Korea’s ban on imports of American beef from cattle older than 30 months of age.
 
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association made the request Tuesday in a letter to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, calling the restriction an unfair trade practice. 

The association reportedly said it understands that the 30-month age limit on U.S. beef is a sensitive issue in South Korea, but called it an issue that cannot be ignored.

It said China, Japan and Taiwan have lifted similar bans in recognition of the safety and quality of American beef.

Under a 2008 agreement, South Korea imports U.S. beef only from cattle under 30 months of age due to concerns over mad cow disease.

That age limit was a response to public pressure after the government reversed an earlier ban on all American beef imports. 

Thousands of South Koreans gathered in the streets and staged candlelight protests in 2008 to keep American beef out of the country.
Koo Heejin, KBS World Radio News.