Markets & Finance · Agribusiness
—The trigger. Australia became the first major supplier to exhaust its annual Chinese beef quota, filling the 205,000-tonne limit on June 16.
—The penalty. From June 20, any Australian beef entering China above that quota faces an extra 55% tariff on top of existing duties.
—The system. The levy is part of a three-year safeguard China launched in January that caps tariff-free beef from each big supplier.
—The cost. Australian industry groups warn of losses above one billion Australian dollars a year if shipments to China fall by roughly a third.
