In late January, Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV-02) introduced H. R. 7276 to add a 30% tariff on sheep and lamb products from Australia or New Zealand.
“The legislation introduced by Amodei and cosponsored by Maloy and Owens is intended to reverse the alarming contraction of the domestic sheep industry by offsetting the artificial economic advantages that Australian and New Zealand sheep producers gain in the U.S. market due to their weaker currencies and lower production costs associated with weaker production standards, such as their more liberal use of chemical-based predator controls that are restricted in the United States,” said the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, USA (R-CALF) in a statement.
In 2023, R-CALF initiated an effort seeking an investigation to determine if imported lamb products are a substantial cause of serious injury to the U.S. sheep industry.
