Under Trump, US cedes its share of China's beef market to Australia [View all]

Source: Reuters

September 29, 2025 4:21 AM EDT Updated 7 hours ago


CANBERRA/CHICAGO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Australian beef has replaced U.S. supply in China since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, funnelling hundreds of millions of dollars that have in previous years gone to the U.S. cattle industry into Australian pockets.

U.S. shipments to China, worth around $120 million a month, collapsed after Beijing in March allowed permits to expire at hundreds of American meat facilities and as Trump unleashed a tit-for-tat tariff war. Other U.S. farm exports to China, the world's biggest food importer, have also suffered since Trump retook power. On soybeans alone, U.S. farmers have lost out on shipments worth billions of dollars during the current harvest season.

U.S. beef exports have in general declined in recent years as drought shrank the country's cattle herd, reducing production and pushing prices to record highs. But the drop in trade with China has been far more sudden and extreme.

The value of U.S. beef sent to China fell to just $8.1 million in July and $9.5 million in August, Chinese trade data showed, compared to $118 million and $125 million in the same months a year earlier. Australia has mopped up. Its beef shipments to China shot from $140 million a month in the two years to March to $221 million in July and $226 million in August.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/under-trump-us-cedes-its-share-chinas-beef-market-australia-2025-09-29/