China sets quotas, slaps additional tariffs on some beef imports

China will impose additional 55% tariffs on beef imports from countries including Brazil, Australia and the U.S. when shipments ‍exceed certain quotas, a major blow to key global suppliers as the domestic industry grapples with a ‌supply glut.

China's commerce ministry said on ‍Wednesday the total quota for 2026 is 2.7 million metric tons, with Brazil assigned the highest portion of 41.1%, followed by Argentina with 19.0% and 12.1% for Uruguay.

The ministry allocated a quota of 205,000 metric tons for Australia and 164,000 metric tons for the U.S. In 2024, China imported 1.34 million tons of beef from Brazil, 594,567 tons from Argentina, 216,050 tons from Australia, 243,662 tons from Uruguay, ⁠150,514 tons from New Zealand, and 138,112 tons from the United States.

China's measures will take effect on January 1 for three years, with the total quota increasing every year, reaching 2.8 million metric tons in 2028.

Last week, Chinese beef industry associations pressured the government to impose immediate safeguard measures by the year-end to ‍stabilize market expectations and domestic breeders' livelihoods, state media Global Times reported.

Since 2023, China's beef breeding ‍sector has incurred ‍heavy losses due to various factors, including ⁠imports, prompting many breeders to slaughter ‍breeding cattle to reduce expenses, Global Times quoted an industry official as saying. China imported a record 2.87 million metric tons of beef last year. Imports in the January to November period ⁠dropped 0.3% year-on-year ‌to 2.59 million tons.