(China) China implements safeguard measures on beef imports, three years of country-specific quota management

The Ministry of Commerce issued an announcement on December 31, 2025, announcing the final ruling on the safeguard measures for imported beef: the increase in the amount of imported beef has caused serious damage to China's domestic industry, and there is a causal relationship between the two. The safeguard measures will be implemented from January 1, 2026 for a period of three years until December 31, 2028.

Measures take the form of "country quotas plus quotas plus tariffs. According to the announcement of the Ministry of Commerce, the total quota for imported beef in 2026 is 2.688 million tons, and those that do not exceed the quota shall be subject to the current applicable tariff rate. From the 3rd day when the import volume reaches the specified quantity, a 55% tariff will be imposed on the excess part on the basis of the current tax rate. The measures will be gradually relaxed at fixed intervals during the implementation period. The quota plus tax rate in 2027 and 2028 will be reduced to 45% and 35% respectively. The unused quota of the previous year will not be carried forward to the next year. The safeguard measures shall not apply to beef originating in developing countries (regions) with an import share of no more than 3% and an aggregate share of no more than 9% of such countries.

Brazil has the highest share of country quotas, 1.106 million tons, and the United States 164000 tons. During the implementation of the safeguard measures, the special safeguard measures for beef under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement were suspended.

This safeguard measure is aimed at the rapid expansion of imported beef in recent years: China imported 2.87 million tons of beef in 2024, up 73.2 from 2019, with the import share rising from about 20% to about 30%; The import price has been lower than the domestic market price for a long time, resulting in a deep loss in the domestic beef cattle breeding and slaughtering process in 2024 and a decline in the number of breeding cows. Safeguard measures are one of the trade remedy tools permitted by the rules of the World Trade Organization, and this ruling is a phased arrangement aimed at striving for a buffer period for domestic industries.

Source: Ministry of Commerce Announcement No. 87 of 2025; Farmers Daily; Shandong Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau, January 2026.