China has announced plans to impose an additional 55 per cent tariff on certain beef imports from countries including Brazil, Australia, Argentina, and the United States starting January 1.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said the decision followed an investigation which found that rising beef imports had harmed the country’s domestic industry. The probe covered fresh and frozen beef, both bone-in and boneless.
Under the new measures, exporting countries will be assigned annual import quotas. Beef shipments that exceed these limits will be subject to the additional tariff. The safeguards will remain in place for three years, until December 31, 2028, but will be gradually relaxed over time as quotas expand annually.
For 2026, Brazil has been allocated a quota of 1.1 million tonnes, Argentina about half that amount, Australia roughly 200,000 tonnes, and the United States 164,000 tonnes.
The ministry said the move was aimed at supporting China’s local beef industry amid falling prices caused by oversupply and slowing demand, stressing that it was not intended to restrict normal trade. It also announced the suspension of part of its free trade agreement with Australia covering beef imports.
