China has announced a 55% tariff on beef imports from Australia and others that go beyond a new annual quota. This move is to protect China's growing local cattle industry, according to China’s commerce ministry on Wednesday. The 2026 import quota is 2.7 million metric tons, similar to the 2.87 million tons imported in 2024. However, this quota is lower than the beef Australia and Brazil have imported in the first 11 months of 2025. The ministry said, “The increase in the amount of imported beef has seriously damaged China’s domestic industry.” This tariff will start on January 1 and last for three years, with the quota rising annually. Australian beef producers reacted strongly. Tim Ryan, chief executive of the Australian Meat Industry Council (AMIC), said the tariffs were “neither fair nor appropriate” and hurt a “long-standing, mutually beneficial trade relationship.” He added, “This decision appears to reward other countries who have surged the volume of beef exported to the Chinese market in recent years.” Ryan warned the tariffs would “have a severe impact on trade flows to China,” disrupt the China–Australia Free Trade Agreement, and limit Chinese consumers’ access to safe Australian beef. Chinese beef imports dropped slightly by 0.3% in the first 11 months of this year to 2.59 million tons. According to analyst Hongzhi Xu from Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultants, “China’s beef-cattle farming is not competitive compared with countries such as Brazil and Argentina.” In 2024, China bought 1.34 million tons of beef from Brazil, 594,567 tons from Argentina, and 216,050 tons from Australia. In 2025, Brazil’s beef exports to China remain well above the new quota. Australian beef exports to China gained market share this year after the US faced permit issues and trade tensions. Mark Thomas, chair of the Western Beef Association in Australia, responded, “There’s plenty of other countries that will take our product.”