BEIJING: China will collect an additional 55% tariff on beef imports from Brazil beginning on October 1, on top of the current applicable rate, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Wednesday.
China in January said it would impose an added 55% tariff on beef imports that exceed quota levels from key suppliers, including Brazil, in a move to protect its domestic cattle industry.
China, the largest buyer of Brazilian beef, established a 1.1 million metric ton quota for Brazil this year.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said last week that Uruguay had authorized Brazil to use the surplus from its beef export quota to China.
But China has not agreed to allow Brazil to use Uruguay's export quota this year or next year, according to industry insiders.
Industry insiders have told Reuters that even if Brazil directly reaches an agreement with other countries over their unused beef export volumes, China is unlikely to agree to it.
Reuters reported in May that Beijing had rejected Brazil's repeated lobbying China to relax and reallocate the quotas to allow Brazil to use other countries' extra export volumes.
China's Commerce Ministry has not publicly commented on Brazil's requests.
All eyes are on whether China will renew its beef export quota system for 2027 by year-end.
Brazil's total beef export volumes are expected to drop 10% year-on-year in 2026, industry group Abiec estimated earlier this year, amid restrictions imposed by Beijing and a recent curb on Brazilian meat exports to the European Union. - Reuters
