Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Starting Wednesday, the United States is to impose an additional 50% tariff on Brazilian beef, adding to the existing 26.4% duty on exports that exceed quota limits -- bringing the potential total rate to about 76.4%.
Brazil has an annual quota of 65,005 metric tons for exporting fresh beef to the United States duty-free. This quota is usually filled quickly -- it occurred on Jan 17 this year, but strong demand and low production costs made continued shipping economically viable with the 26.4% duty.
But now, with the new 50% tariff tacked on, that steep increase is expected to sharply reduce imports from Brazil and prompt U.S. buyers to shift sourcing to other Mercosur trade bloc nations, including Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, to meet demand.
In the first half of 2025, Brazil exported more than 165,000 tons of beef to the United States. Under the new trade conditions, much of that volume could be redirected to China -- its second-largest export market -- potentially setting off a domino effect on the other Mercosur countries.
"If Brazil sends a large volume of beef to China, that country will obviously stop buying some from Argentina and Uruguay," said Fernando Herrera, president of Argentina's Association of Exporting Producers.
