China’s beef tariffs highlight ‘chaotic’ global trade, minister says

China slapping tariffs on beef highlights the “chaotic” global trade environment Australia is facing, a government minister says. The country’s commerce ministry last week announced 55 per cent duties on beef imports above quota levels, dealing a blow to major suppliers including Australia, Brazil and the US. The action, which came after a lengthy “safeguard investigation” probing foreign beef supply, was taken to protect China’s domestic industry and was not targeted at any country, according to the ministry. Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres said on Monday he did not know if Canberra was told in advance of the decision, but that the tariffs were not directed at Australia. “I am not certain about whether we were provided with advanced notice,” he told ABC radio. “These are regrettable, that there are trade barriers being put in place in China. “They are not trade barriers that are about Australia – they are trade barriers that are about beef exports from around the world into China.” He added that the government would “be making the case steadily and effectively and carefully in the interest of our beef producers over the coming weeks and months”. Senator Ayres, who was previously assistant trade minister, also brushed off concerns that more Australian exports could be affected, but said it did indicate global trade was becoming increasingly volatile. “There’s certainly no signs, that I’m aware of, of a broader approach being taken, but it underscores the broader set of issues for Australia,” he said. “We are operating in an environment where trade rules are not applied as consistently as they should be, where our trading environment is more chaotic and more unpredictable. “That’s why we’ve taken the approach of diversifying our exports, not just in terms of the markets that we sell to, but in terms of the products and services that we offer the world.” Also speaking to ABC radio, opposition trade spokesman Kevin Hogan shared a similar concern. He said both China and the US flaunting international trade rules. “Australia, last year, sold or exported about $650 billion worth of stuff overseas,” Mr Hogan said. “We very much are advantaged by a rules-based trading order, and in the last 12 months, we’ve seen both the United States and now China again, and they did a few years ago, start to not play by the rules. “The China free trade agreement, which we did when in government in 2015, liberalised beef trade, and this is not in the spirit of that.” He also said the government “need to certainly up it a bit”. China’s move to tariff beef came after its commerce ministry twice extended the foreign beef supply review. The ministry launched the probe in December 2024. It was meant to make a decision in August but pushed the deadline back to November 26, and again kicked the deadline back until January 26. Australia broke the record for the highest volume of beef exported in a calendar year in December, according to Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA). MLA put exports at 1.398 million tonnes, pushing them up 15 per cent year-on-year. China is Australia’s second-largest market and has only increased buying Australian beef due to a trade war with the US. US tariffs and Chinese counter-tariffs hiked American beef prices in China in 2024, forcing restaurants and consumers alike to search for alternatives. Australia’s tariff-free beef largely filled the demand. During his interview, Senator Ayres spruiked Future Made in Australia – Labor’s plan to re-industrialise the economy for an increasingly green and hi-tech global economy. He said the strategy was “also about economic resilience, making sure that Australia is exporting more value added products to the world that we’re more economically resilient”. “That means a stronger future Australian economy,” he said. “It does mean more good quality jobs, particularly blue collar jobs, but it also means making Australia stronger and more prosperous in the years ahead.”