Australia, New Zealand beef imports higher into US despite tariff concerns

Despite the announcement of US tariffs on imports and uncertainty about lean beef trimmings, beef imports from Australia and New Zealand rose in the week ended April 7 amid limited US domestic supplies.

Imports of Australian beef reached 104,013 mt, or 27.5%, of the annual quota of 378,214 mt, according to US Customs and Border Protection data. The quota allocated 9,180 mt for the week to April 7, up 59.26% from 5,764 mt allocated the previous week.

Imports of New Zealand beef reached 60,412 mt, or 28.31%, of the annual quota of 213,402 mt, CBP said in its Commodity Status Report. The quota allocated 6,193 mt for the week to April 7, up 32.79% from 4,664 mt the previous week.

Beef imports into the US from countries other than Argentina, Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and Uruguay, Brazil being the main origin, have filled 100% of their annual quota of 65,005 mt since Jan. 17, according to the data.

Prices

Platts assessed the price of 90CL beef CIF US on April 7 at $6,768/mt, or $3.07/lb, for a 30-60 day shipment period, up $66/mt, or 1%, from April 4.Platts is part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.

"Our initial thoughts on the lean trim market are that the tariff will be absorbed in the short term simply because of that domestic supply scenario," said Caleb Hurst, beef market analyst for Commodity Insights. "We still need to import lean trim to meet that demand."

Platts 90CL beef CIF US assessment for a 30-60 day shipment period has risen 5% during 2025 and 12% from 2024.

US President Donald Trump April 2 announced 10% reciprocal tariffs on imports from Australia, Brazil and New Zealand tariff. These three countries represented 49.8% of total US beef imports in 2024 and are the main suppliers of US lean beef trimmings imports. The 10% reciprocal tariff will be in addition to the 26.4% tariff already in place for Brazil.