Australia risks losing its dominance in Korean beef market to the US unless an urgent trade deal is struck, the Cattle Council warned.

The US is targeting a bigger share of the Korean market, increasing its exports by more than 20% since it launched a marketing blitz in December.

The country has also reached an in-principle deal for massive tariff cuts on its beef shipments.

The Cattle Council's David Inall says Australia's third biggest export market is at risk without a similar trade deal.

"The arrangement US have at the moment will see their tariff go from 40% to zero over 15 years, and we don't want to be too far behind them or we'll be losing competitiveness under a 40% tariff," he added.

However, an agreement to cut tariffs on Australian beef is likely to be reached before the end of the year, said Inall after his recent visit to Korea.

"We believe negotiations are going very well, and the Australian ambassador in Seoul is very positive about how discussions are going," he added.