Australian Beef Sector ‘Highly Disappointed’ as China Imposes 55% Tariff on Imports Livezstream.com

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Australian beef industry ‘extremely disappointed’ after China hits imports with 55% tariff Livezstream.com
Australian beef sold to China will be hit with a new 55% tariff. Photograph: Dave Hunt/AAP

Australian Beef Sector ‘Highly Disheartened’ as China Imposes 55% Tariff on Imports

Australian beef farmers expressed their “highly disheartened” sentiments following China’s announcement of a 55% tariff on imports surpassing quota levels, aimed at safeguarding a domestic cattle sector gradually recovering from oversupply. China’s commerce ministry disclosed on Wednesday that the total import quota for 2026 in relation to Australia and other nations including Brazil and the US, included in its new “safeguard measures,” amounts to 2.7 million metric tons, which is approximately in line with the record 2.87 million tons imported in total during 2024. The revised annual quota levels are set below the import figures for the initial 11 months of 2025 for Australia as well as its leading supplier, Brazil. Sign up: AU Breaking News email “The rise in imported beef has significantly harmed China’s domestic industry,” the ministry stated while announcing this measure after an investigation initiated in December of the previous year. This regulation will be effective from January 1 for a duration of three years, with the total quota rising on an annual basis. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese mentioned that Australia is in dialogue with China regarding this move but minimized the likely effects on the local beef sector. “This is not a situation where Australia was specifically targeted… this is a general stance that China has taken,” Albanese commented on Thursday. “We are advocating, as we routinely do, for Australian industries. “In my perspective, Australian beef is proudly the finest in the world as the Prime Minister of Australia. We are highly competitive globally, and our products are greatly sought after worldwide. We anticipate this trend will endure. The Australian beef sector is presently stronger than ever.” Nonetheless, beef producers reacted with frustration to the announcement, with the Australian Meat Industry Council (AMIC) calling the measures “extremely disappointing.” The tariffs were deemed neither just nor suitable, according to AMIC’s chief executive, Tim Ryan, and do not reflect the “long-standing, mutually beneficial trade relationship Australia has had with China.” “This decision seems to reward other countries that have escalated their beef exports to the Chinese market in recent years,” Ryan stated. “This ruling will severely affect trade flows to China throughout the period of these measures’ enforcement, disrupt the long-established relationships built under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, and limit Chinese consumers’ access to safe and reliable Australian beef.” Beef imports to China saw a decline of 0.3% during the first 11 months of this year, totaling 2.59 million tons. According to Hongzhi Xu, a senior analyst at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultants, Chinese beef imports are expected to drop in 2026 due to these new measures. “China’s beef-cattle farming lacks competitiveness compared to nations like Brazil and Argentina,” Xu remarked. “This cannot be swiftly remedied through technological innovations or institutional reforms.” In 2024, China brought in 1.34 million tons of beef from Brazil, 594,567 tons from Argentina, 243,662 tons from Uruguay, 216,050 tons from Australia, 150,514 tons from New Zealand, and 138,112 tons from the U.S. For the first 11 months of the current year, Brazil exported 1.33 million tons of beef to China, based on data from Chinese customs, significantly exceeding the quota limits defined under Beijing’s new directives. Furthermore, this year, Australian exports to China surged, capturing market share from U.S. beef after Beijing allowed permits to lapse for numerous American meat plants in March, coinciding with Donald Trump’s initiation of a tit-for-tat tariff conflict. In response to Beijing’s announcement, Mark Thomas, chair of the Western Beef Association in Australia, commented: “There are plenty of other countries ready to take our product.”


Published: 2026-01-01 02:36:00

source: www.theguardian.com