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China adds 55% tariff to Brazil beef as imports hit quota
China’s commerce ministry said the surcharge will lift duties on above-quota shipments to 67%, after Brazil filled its 1.1 million-ton allocation.
On Wednesday, China's Commerce Ministry announced an additional 55% tariff on beef imports from Brazil, effective October 1, after Brazil reached its 1.1 million metric ton annual quota.
Chinese Communist Party officials introduced the tariff-rate quota mechanism in January to protect domestic cattle producers. The system applies to major suppliers including Brazil, Australia, the United States, Argentina, Uruguay, and New Zealand.
This additional 55% tariff raises total duty on Brazilian beef shipments to 67 percent. Beijing has rejected Brazil's repeated lobbying to relax quotas, including requests to use unused export volumes from Uruguay.
Brazil's total beef exports are projected to fall by about 10 percent in 2026, according to the Brazilian Beef Exporters Association, amid China's safeguard tariffs and European Union restrictions.
Market participants are monitoring whether Beijing renews safeguard measures for 2027 by year-end. Global Commodity Insights reported China has set Brazil's allocation at 1.13 million tons for 2027 and 1.15 million tons for 2028.
After Australia, Brazil, in turn, reached its annual beef export quota on the Chinese market. As a result, Brazilian meat is now overtaxed. China had imposed the measure at the beginning of the year to protect its production chain.
According to a warning issued by the ministry, imports of Brazilian beef reached, on September 29, 100% of the volume allocated to Brazil as part of the protection measures of the sector announced in 2025.