On the last day of 2025, China imposed additional 55% tariffs for major trading partners on beef imports when shipments exceed certain quotas, effective Jan. 1.
The tariffs will be imposed on countries including the U.S., Brazil and Australia.
“The objective of these safeguard measures on imported beef is to help the domestic industry overcome its current difficulties, rather than to restrict normal trade,” the China Ministry of Commerce said, according to the South China Morning Post.
The 2026 total import quota for countries included in the new measures is 2.7 million metric tons (mt), which is comparable to the 2.87 million mt the country imported in 2024. The U.S. quota is set at 172,000 mt for 2026. In 2024, the U.S. shipped about 138,000 mt of beef to China, but only about 55,000 mt in 2025 due to China failing to renew their export certificates for U.S. beef processors.
