Australian beef industry ‘extremely disappointed’ after China hits imports with 55% tariff | Australia news
Australian beef producers say they are “extremely disappointed” after China announced a 55% tariff on imports exceeding quota levels in a bid to protect its domestic beef industry as it slowly begins to emerge from oversupply.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday that the total import quota for Australia and other countries under new “safeguard measures” such as Brazil and the United States for 2026 is 2.7 million metric tons, roughly in line with the total import record of 2.87 million metric tons in 2024.
The new annual quota levels are set below import levels for Australia and its main supplier Brazil for the first 11 months of 2025.
“The increase in the amount of imported beef has caused serious damage to China’s domestic industry,” the ministry said in announcing the measure following an investigation launched last December.
The measure will take effect on January 1 for three years, with the total quota increasing each year.
Australian beef producers reacted angrily to the news, with the Australian Meat Industry Council (AMIC) describing the measures as extremely disappointing.
AMIC chief executive Tim Ryan said the tariffs were neither fair nor appropriate and did not reflect “Australia’s long-standing, mutually beneficial trade relationship with China”.
“This decision appears to reward other countries that have increased the volume of beef exported to the Chinese market in recent years,” Ryan said.
“This decision will have a serious impact on trade flows to China for the duration of the measures’ implementation, disrupting long-standing relationships developed under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement and restricting the ability of Chinese consumers to access safe and reliable Australian beef,” Ryan said.
Beef imports to China decreased by 0.3% to 2.59 million tons in the first 11 months of this year. Hongzhi Xu, senior analyst at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultants, said China’s beef imports will fall in 2026 as a result of the measures.
“China’s beef-cattle farming is uncompetitive compared to countries such as Brazil and Argentina. This situation cannot be reversed in the short term through technological advances or institutional reforms,” Xu said.
In 2024, China imported 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 USA.
According to Chinese customs data, in the first 11 months of this year, Brazil shipped 1.33 million tons of beef to China; This is well above the quota levels set under Beijing’s new measures.
Also this year, after Beijing allowed permits to expire at hundreds of American meat plants in March and Donald Trump launched a tit-for-tat tariff war, Australian shipments to China surged, gaining share at the expense of US beef.
Responding to Beijing’s announcement, Mark Thomas, president of the Western Beef Association in Australia, said: “There are plenty of other countries that will take our product.”
