Beijing’s renewal of import licences for US beef plants comes as Brazil nears its annual quota cap and scrambles for alternative markets

The comments came after Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that China had renewed import licences for hundreds of US beef plants during US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing for talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

China announced in December that beef imports above a fixed country-by-country ceiling in 2026 would face a 55 per cent tariff, up from the standard 12 per cent rate.

Source: News - South China Morning Post