Blow to Australian beef producers as China hikes tariff
China has been accused of violating the spirit of its free trade agreement with Australia after imposing tariffs on global beef imports.
In an unwelcome start to 2026 for Australian beef producers, China has announced it will impose an additional 55 percent tax on beef imports for countries including Australia if shipments exceed certain quotas.
China’s Ministry of Commerce set the total annual quota at 2.7 million tonnes and allocated 205,000 tonnes to Australia.
The measures came into force on January 1 for three years and stem from an investigation launched in December 2024 to protect China’s troubled beef industry.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australian representatives were in contact with their Chinese counterparts and stressed his country was “not singled out”.
“Australian beef is proudly the best in the world in my view as prime minister of Australia,” he told reporters on Thursday.
“We compete very well in the world and our products are in great demand worldwide.
“We expect this to continue… The Australian beef industry has never been stronger than it is today as we move into 2026.”
China is an important long-term market for Australian beef producers, accounting for around eight per cent of the country’s total beef imports.
Both Cattle Australia and the Australian Meat Industry Council estimate the restriction could reduce the country’s beef exports to China by around a third from 2025.
This would be equivalent to a loss in trade of more than $1 billion.
Opposition trade spokesman Kevin Hogan said quotas were eliminated when then-prime minister Tony Abbott signed the landmark free trade agreement with China in 2015.
Cattle Australia chief executive Garry Edwards said China’s decision was “completely unwarranted and contradicts the sentiment of the free trade agreement”.
“We believe this decision will erode Chinese consumers’ access to a reliable, high-quality, safely produced source of protein,” he said.
Mr Edwards said Australian representatives had presented official evidence during the review process that their imports were not harming the local Chinese beef industry.
Australian Meat Industry Council CEO Tim Ryan said China’s restrictive regulations were not fair, appropriate or reflective of its long-standing beneficial trading relationship with Australia.
“This decision appears to reward other countries that have increased the volume of beef exported to the Chinese market in recent years,” the head of the summit lobby group 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.”
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, who was in cabinet when the free trade deal was signed, said China’s move away from promoting beef trade with Australia was “worrying”.
“So what the prime minister needs to do is strengthen the very good relationship that he told us he has with President Xi (Jinping),” he said.
“And make sure he reaches out and makes it clear that Australia should not be included in any of these arrangements when it comes to restrictions on beef trade to China.”
US President Donald Trump’s administration lifted 10 percent tariffs on Australian beef imports in mid-November.
The trade dispute comes after Australia condemned the Chinese military’s launch of a massive simulated surprise attack near Taiwan on Monday.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the “Justice Mission 2025” exercises were highly worrying, destabilizing and risked “exacerbating regional tensions” and revealed Australian officials had raised the issue with their Chinese counterparts.
“Differences should be managed through dialogue, not through the use of force or coercion,” the ministry said.
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