Meat sector unclear what Trump's tariffs mean for New Zealand
Kate Acland from Beef and Lamb said it's too soon to judge whether the announcement will lower beef prices.
New Zealand's meat export sector remains uncertain about the potential impact of Donald Trump's recent tariff announcement on the country's domestic market. The US has announced a temporary measure to allow countries to send up to 300,000 metric tonnes of ground beef products to America for 90 days, without triggering costly out-of-quota tariffs. Typically, countries exceeding their usual import levels are subject to a heavy tariff of over 26 percent. However, it is unclear which nations will be included in this deal.
Trump's administration claims that the imported beef will be sold at 25 percent below the current US market prices. Kate Acland, a representative from Beef and Lamb, stated that New Zealand already enjoys excellent access to the US market for meat and is currently tariff-free. According to her, lean beef trim is an essential market product for New Zealand, as well as competitors like Brazil and Australia, who do not have the same level of access to the US market.
Acland expressed that it is premature to determine whether the announcement will reduce beef prices. However, she added that if Brazil benefits from the tariff change, it could have a slight downward impact on prices. Until more details are released, exporters will need to wait and see how the situation unfolds.
Written by urgent.news from RNZ Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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