55 percent additional tariff on volumes exceeding quotas, a three-year period with gradual easing, and exemptions for small suppliers

As reported by CCTV+, China’s safeguard measures on imported beef are intended to help the domestic livestock industry overcome current difficulties, not to restrict normal trade, Commerce Ministry spokeswoman He Yongqian said on Thursday.

On December 31, 2025, the ministry announced the introduction of safeguard measures on imported beef. The measures are implemented in the form of country-specific quotas and additional tariffs on volumes exceeding those quotas. Starting from the third day after a specific country’s beef imports reach its annual quota, importers from that country will have to pay an additional tariff of 55 percent on top of the existing tariff rate.

He Yongqian stressed: “The introduction of safeguard measures on imported beef is a temporary measure aimed at helping the domestic industry overcome current difficulties, not at restricting normal beef trade. The Chinese market remains open, and China is ready to cooperate with all parties to jointly maintain a stable and healthy international trading environment.”

According to the ministry’s statement, the measures are in effect from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2028, and will be gradually eased at fixed intervals over the three-year period. For products originating from developing countries or regions, safeguard measures do not apply if a single country’s import share does not exceed 3 percent and the total import share of all such countries does not exceed 9 percent. If these conditions are not met, the measures will begin to apply to those countries from the following year.

Safeguard measures are a trade policy instrument that temporarily restricts imports to protect domestic producers from a sharp increase in foreign supplies. Unlike anti-dumping duties, they are not linked to unfair trade practices.

China is not closing its market. It is simply giving its farmers time to breathe. Fifty-five percent above the quota is not a ban — it is a signal: “let’s take it easy.” Three years, gradual easing, exemptions for small suppliers — all this suggests that Beijing does not want to disrupt international trade. It wants to make it more predictable. The question is not whether China will stop importing beef. It will not. The question is how quickly domestic producers can fill the gap. While some argue about tariffs, others are already counting profits. This is not cruelty. It is economics. Which demands that one’s own should not be hungrier than others.