U.S. Loses to Australia in China’s Beef Market Under Trump

Australian beef has overtaken U.S. supply in China since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, diverting hundreds of millions of dollars away from American ranchers, Peter Hobson and Tom Polansek reported for Reuters.

Australia's beef exports to China jumped from an average of $140 million a month in the two years to March, to $221 million in July and $226 million in August.

U.S. shipments to China, once worth about $120 million a month, collapsed after Beijing in March allowed permits at hundreds of American meat facilities to expire — just as Trump reignited a tit-for-tat tariff war.

Other U.S. farm exports have also been hit hard, with soybean sales alone down by billions of dollars during the current harvest season.

While U.S. beef exports had already been trending lower in recent years due to drought shrinking cattle herds and driving up prices, the plunge in trade with China has been particularly sharp.

U.S. beef exports fell to just $8.1 million in July and $9.5 million in August, down from $118 million and $125 million in the same months a year earlier, according to Chinese trade data.

Australia quickly stepped in. Its beef exports to China jumped from an average of $140 million a month in the two years to March, to $221 million in July and $226 million in August.