This follows the US Trade Representative (USTR) confirming that the US will be imposing 10% tariffs on a wide range of products, including meat exports, from China. These duties will be imposed from 24 September, rising to 25% on 1 January.
The US action covers frozen pig meat (including cuts for retail); salted, dried or smoked pig meat (other than hams, shoulders and bellies); fresh or chilled bovine offal; rabbit and hare meat and offal – fresh, chilled or frozen; and frogs’ legs – fresh, chilled or frozen. Also, meat-based animal feed is covered by the new duties, as are US imports from China of dead animals that are unfit for human consumption.
A USTR note said the duties were designed to force China to stop illicit transfers of American technology to Chinese companies.
International trade data has indicated that while Chinese exports to the USA in 2017 of dead animals unfit for human consumption generated US$175m worth of sales, volumes of many of these products exported by China to the USA were low. Indeed, the American meat sector might be more concerned by Beijing’s response in this most recent wave of tit-for-tat protectionism between Washington and Beijing.
The Chinese Ministry of Finance’s retaliatory duties will hit US meat exporters from 24 September. Some of these tariffs are higher than the US rates – immediately imposed at 25% on US-made fresh or cold boned lamb; dried, smoked and salted beef; and dried, smoked and salted unspecified ‘other meat’. The Chinese government will also impose 25% duties on whole or diced salted pig casings (except for large pig intestines); whole or diced salted sheep casings; and fresh, cold, frozen, dried, salted stomach from unspecified ‘other animals’.
On the same day, China will impose 20% duties on US-made sausages. Also, China will impose 10% duties on meat and bone meal ‘of other animals’; processed and preserved turkey meat; chicken breast; and meat powders that are not suitable for human consumption, also from 24 September.
International trade data has indicated that US sales of some of these products are at risk, with sausage exports from the USA to China generating US$2.1 million in sales last year (2017); and China sales of US-made sausage casings earning US$7.3m. Exports of US-made chicken meat (fresh chilled or frozen) in 2017 earned US producers US$1.4m. However, lamb meat exports from the US to China in 2017 were small – just US$117,000-worth was sold.
