China to impose safeguard measures on imported beef

BEIJING, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- China has decided to implement safeguard measures on imported beef from Jan. 1, 2026 to Dec. 31, 2028, the Ministry of Commerce announced Wednesday.

The decision came after a final ruling of a safeguard investigation into imported meat of bovine animals, which was launched on Dec. 27, 2024.

The measures will be implemented in the form of country-specific tariff rate quotas, the ministry said. Imported beef exceeding the specified quantities will be subject to additional tariff rate of 55 percent.

The measures will be in effect for a period of three years, and will be progressively relaxed at fixed intervals during the implementation period, the ministry said.

For products originating from developing countries or regions, safeguard measures shall not apply if the import share of an individual country or region does not exceed 3 percent, and the total import share of all such countries and regions does not exceed 9 percent. However, safeguard measures will apply to these countries or regions starting from the following year if the conditions are not met.

The purpose of imposing safeguard measures on imported beef is to help the domestic industry weather its current difficulties, rather than to restrict normal trade, a spokesperson of the ministry said.

The Chinese market has always been open, and there is broad scope for cooperation in the beef trade with other countries, said the spokesperson, adding that China stands ready to work with all parties to jointly uphold a sound and stable international trade environment.

The investigation was launched in 2024 in response to an application submitted by multiple industry associations, who said that the sharp increase in the volume of imported beef has impacted China's domestic industry significantly, bringing substantial damages.

China has always exercised prudence in implementing safeguard measures. Prior to its latest decision, it had only launched safeguard investigations and imposed measures on imported steel products and sugar.

In recent years, rising living standards have fueled growing demand for beef, driving expansion in both domestic production and imports.

According to a Ministry of Commerce survey, China's beef imports have surged in recent years, increasing 73.2 percent from 2019 to 2024, and its import prices have been significantly lower than domestic market prices.

From 2019 to the first half of 2024, the market share of imported beef climbed from 20 percent to nearly 30 percent.

"Imported beef, which initially served as a market supplement, has surged in recent years and greatly eroded the domestic industry's market share, leading to a sharp decline in domestic prices and widespread losses across the sector," said Sha Yusheng, secretary general of the China Animal Agriculture Association.

Shi Xiaoli, director of the WTO Law Research Center at the China University of Political Science and Law, said that WTO rules allow members to impose safeguard measures on imports when an import surge causes or threatens serious injury to the domestic industry concerned.

Shi noted that the latest safeguard measure is set for a duration of three years, which reflects a restrained and prudent approach to implementing such measures on imported goods. ■