Uruguay cannot access the new 300,000-ton quota officially announced by the White House this week, while the figures show the current weight of the tariff on Uruguayan beef in the US market.
Government sources consulted by WBR confirmed that Uruguay has no room to access the new 300,000-ton quota opened by the US for “other countries,” from which Brazil and Paraguay can benefit.
“The quota is intended exclusively for countries that do not have their own quotas, so there is no room for us to enter. Even so, we are watching closely to see how it is implemented and whether any opportunity emerges,” the sources said.
The explanation confirms MICA’s earlier report: because Uruguay has its own allocation under the US system, it is automatically excluded from the additional quota intended for countries without bilateral quotas.
Uruguay has a 20,000-ton preferential-tariff quota for beef exports to the US. According to US Customs data, the country had shipped about 13,000 tons as of August 24, equivalent to 69% of the quota.
The figure takes on another dimension when total exports to that destination are considered. According to INAC, Uruguay has shipped about 107,000 tons to the US so far this year, meaning that a large share of that volume—far above the 20,000-ton preferential quota—paid the full 26.4% tariff.
