The U.S. beef industry strengthened its global position with announcements last week as Australia’s markets became open to U.S. beef, the trade plane from Brazil is being leveled and the southern border is being shut down once again, creating an interesting situation right in the heart of the summer video sale season.
In the March 10 WLJ Comments column, I mentioned how uncomfortable the tariff situation was for beef producers. In a world where tariffs were all the headlines and the trade world was completely uncertain, each industry was being used as pawns on the table to renegotiate trade deals. In very few times in history has this been so vocal and blatant. Retaliatory threats from our largest trading partners were on the daily. In fact, Western Livestock Journal’s situation with print costs from the lumber industry was in complete turmoil. The result? No changes ever happened. Fast forward to today, the tariff situation has leveled out with many changes coming in the favor of the U.S. Not all, of course, but the majority.
Now, as of last week, two of the major beef importers to the U.S. were called on to renegotiate their positions. In a major win for the U.S. beef industry, Australia has reopened its doors to U.S. beef products, including both fresh and frozen. For more than two decades, Australia was closed to all beef products from the U.S.
In a statement released by NCBA, President Buck Wehrhein said, “For 20 years, U.S. beef was denied access to Australia while Australia exported $29 billion of beef to U.S. consumers. The lack of two-way, science-based trade has been a sticking point for many years, and we are pleased that President Trump has successfully opened the Australian market to American beef. NCBA has spent decades working to correct this trade imbalance and we are proud to have a President who is willing to fight for American farmers and ranchers, expand export markets, and fix unfair trade agreements across the world.”
The trade imbalance based on Australia’s continual decision to drag its feet allowed the country to sell $28,759,340,461 worth of its beef into the U.S., according to the statement. In the same time frame, borders were closed to the U.S., resulting in $0 total dollars of beef trade coming back to our producers. Today, that imbalance is being rectified.
Additionally, Brazil, Vietnam and Thailand have all placed tariffs on U.S. beef entering their countries while allowing other countries to trade tariff-free. For example, Vietnam has placed a 30% tariff on U.S. beef and has not charged Australia any tariff in the same time frame.
In the first half of 2025, Brazil has exported over $41 billion in goods to the U.S., representing a 7.7% increase over 2024. In the first quarter of 2025, Brazil had already reached its levels of beef sales to the U.S., but after the initial 10% tariff increase restriction was placed in April, trade began to slow. To date this month, according to a Folha De S. Paulo magazine article, sales this month have plummeted by 80% since April, even before the 50% added tariff set to take effect Aug. 1 of this year. In response to the immediate decrease, some of Brazil’s largest beef processor suspended production in their processing plants. Articles from a year ago were claiming companies like JBS and Minerva were ramping up to double their processing capacity. Now, they are looking to shut down facilities in response. It’s definitely a back-and-forth game right now.
Beef production in the U.S. last year rose by 2% even with a shrinking cow herd, according to multiple reports. This is mostly due to larger carcass weights and cattle with greater feed efficiency. The flexibility of the U.S. genetic base to respond to market conditions affords marketers and processors a major luxury. Our infrastructure and feeding system contain major efficiencies that help our industry stay ahead in competitive markets. What, in my own opinion, has been lacking is fair trade.
The biggest threat to our product is sitting on our own soil. Urban sprawl, climate change narratives and anti-animal agriculture agendas play a major role in how beef production is going to go forward. That being said, the landscape surrounding beef production over the foreseeable future has aligned in a way that sustained cow-calf profitability is imminent. With support from an administration that is ag friendly and trade aggressive, we should be able to withstand the corrections we will undoubtedly see from time to time. More availability to markets across the globe with an efficient, performance-driven product that can convert quickly will help the marketers of beef hit local, regional, national, and global markets as beef demand continues to soar. — LOGAN IPSEN
