China adds 55% tariff to Brazil beef imports

China plans to impose a 55% tariff on additional beef imports from Brazil starting October 1, on top of the existing rate, according to the Chinese Commerce Ministry. This additional tariff was announced in January as part of China's strategy to safeguard its domestic cattle industry. The Chinese government has established a quota of 1.1 million metric tons for Brazilian beef this year, with Brazil being its largest buyer of the product.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva recently informed that Uruguay authorized Brazil to utilize the surplus from its beef export quota to China. However, China has not granted Brazil permission to utilize Uruguay's export quota for the current or upcoming year, as reported by industry insiders to Reuters. Even if Brazil enters an agreement with other nations over their unused beef export volumes, China is unlikely to agree, according to Reuters.

Reuters had reported in May that Beijing had rejected Brazil's persistent requests to relax and reallocate the quotas to enable Brazil to use the excess export volumes from other countries. As of now, China's Commerce Ministry has not publicly responded to Brazil's requests. The focus is now on whether China will renew its beef export quota system for 2027 by the end of the year.

Industry estimates anticipate a 10% year-on-year decrease in Brazil's total beef export volumes in 2026, primarily due to Beijing's restrictions and a recent reduction in Brazilian meat exports to the European Union.