What happened
China has imposed an additional 55 percent tariff on Brazilian beef imports, effective October 1. This decision comes after Brazil reached its annual quota of 1.1 million metric tons of imported beef under China's tariff-rate quota mechanism.
The new tariff is in addition to the existing 12 percent import tariff, bringing the total duty on Brazilian beef shipments to 67 percent. Brazil, the world's largest beef exporter, has been China's largest overseas market for beef since 2009.
China introduced the tariff-rate quota mechanism in January to protect local farmers and producers from rising imports. The mechanism applies to all eligible suppliers, including Brazil, Australia, the United States, Argentina, Uruguay, and New Zealand.
Brazil had attempted to mitigate the impact of the quota limit by seeking access to unused allocations held by other exporting countries. However, China's Ministry of Commerce has not publicly commented on Brazil's requests regarding quota transfers.
The Brazilian Beef Exporters Association estimates that the country's total beef exports will fall by about 10 percent in 2026 compared to the previous year, due to China's safeguard tariffs and the European Union's restrictions on Brazilian animal product imports.
