China's Retaliatory Tariffs Effectively Halt Red Meat Trade
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While Trump administration officials suggested last week that a de-escalation of trade tensions between the United States and China could be coming soon, neither side has adjusted recently heightened tariff rates. With China imposing retaliatory duties in response to U.S. “reciprocal” tariffs, China’s effective duty rate on U.S. pork and pork variety meat has reached 172%, while U.S. beef and beef variety meat are tariffed at 147%.
These high duties have effectively halted trade, as explained by Erin Borror, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) vice president of economic analysis. She notes that while USMEF is always working to expand and diversify export markets, China has unique product needs that other destinations cannot fully replace. Borror estimates that China being absent from the market puts more than $150 per fed steer or heifer at risk. The U.S. pork industry stands to lose about $8 to $10 per head in export value, in large part because China is the leading destination for pork variety meat.
China’s failure to renew registrations for 400 U.S. beef facilities presents an additional barrier for U.S. exports, as the majority of U.S. beef production is currently ineligible for China, regardless of the applicable tariff rate. Registrations for most U.S. pork facilities were renewed in March, but China has not yet renewed nine establishment registrations that expired April 20.