US questions increase in sales of Brazilian meat to China

In the report, the American government states that “it is a well-known fact” that forced labor is used in cattle production in Brazil, one of the main exporters of frozen beef in the world.

“During the period from 2015 to 2025, the volume of frozen beef exports from Brazil to the economies investigated almost doubled, compared to a 21% increase in US frozen beef exports in volume”, says the document released this Tuesday (2), with which the White House is considering imposing a new tariff of 12.5% ​​on Brazilian products and products from several other countries.

According to USTR data, Brazilian exports of frozen beef to China increased more than 17 times, from 94 thousand metric tons in 2015 to almost 1,650 thousand metric tons in 2025, in volume.

“Brazilian exports of frozen beef to China far exceeded American exports of frozen beef to China, which have been on a downward trend in recent years,” highlights the report.

The American government further pointed out that, although not all Chinese imports of frozen beef from Brazil are necessarily produced with forced labor, the prevalence of forced labor in beef production in Brazil “strongly suggests that at least some of the Chinese imports were produced in whole or in part with forced labor.”

The US points to China’s negligence in restricting the entry of imports of Brazilian goods, despite reports about the possibility of using forced labor in livestock production. This, according to Donald Trump’s government, gave Brazilian beef a cost advantage and “distorted” competition with American beef.

“Although other factors, such as the size of the U.S. cattle herd, may also have influenced competition between U.S. and Brazilian beef, even with an import ban based on forced labor, the U.S. would likely have experienced greater beef sales, revenues, and exports to China, all other variables being equal,” USTR concluded in the investigation.

The new report comes after the recommendation, on Monday (1st), of a 25% tariff on Brazilian products based on Section 301, in which the American government accused Brazil of adopting policies and practices that harm American trade (access the full report here).