USMEF quantifies losses of red meat exports to China due to tariffs

With trade tensions over tariff rates between the United States and China simmering, and despite the Trump administration’s recent suggestion that negotiations to settle the dispute are in the works, neither side has budged.

In the US Meat Export Federation’s Weekly Report, Erin Borror, USMEF vice president of economic analysis, confirmed the trade conflict has resulted in a stoppage of beef and pork exports shipped from the United States to China.

Retaliatory duties imposed by China in response to US reciprocal tariffs currently have caused duty rates on US pork and pork variety meats to reach 172% and a tariff rate of 147% on US beef and variety meats.

Borror pointed out that finding replacement trading partners is challenging because of specific requirements for US products shipped to China.

“There’s a mad scramble to try to essentially find new homes for this product that is in the pipeline that was produced for China,” Borror said. “And remember that for China, we have special China labeling. It’s ractopamine-free product with a China label, both on the bag and the box. So, it’s costly production specific for China, and thus difficult to reroute or find a new home for this product.” Borror said that historically China buys significant quantities of specific items at a premium that other trading partners aren’t willing to pay. “So, on the beef side, they are a top customer for short plate, short rib, chuck short rib, rib finger, tiger tail, honeycomb, very China specific products,” Borror said.

The absence of shipments for those products to China are estimated to equate to a loss of up to $165 per head for the industry, representing about $4 billion per year. Meanwhile, the US pork industry losses, specifically for a variety of meats, total about $8 to $10 per head or about a $1 billion deficit for the year, Meat+Poultry.com reported.