Meatpackers Rethink Beef Exports to U.S. After Trump Tariffs, Industry Lobby Says

By Rodrigo Viga Gaier and Ana Mano

RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO, July 15 (Reuters) – Brazilian meatpackers are weighing whether to make new shipments of beef products to the U.S. after President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on Brazil last week, Roberto Perosa, president of Brazilian beef lobby ABIEC, said.

The U.S. is Brazil’s second most important beef products market after China, which is the South American country’s number one importer of the commodity, according to trade data.

“New shipments are under analysis by the private sector due to the increase in tariffs,” Perosa said on Tuesday.

The announcement of the tariffs affected Brazil’s cattle market last week and on Monday, with companies sharply reducing purchases of animals because of the uncertainty related to the tariff announcement, said Alcides Torres, a beef market consultant with Scot Consultoria.

“The market turned cold,” Torres said.

Brazil accounts for some 23% of U.S. beef imports, according to calculations by Genial Investimentos.

Minerva BEEF3.SA, a listed beefpacker in Brazil, derives around 5% of its net revenue from beef sales to the U.S., the company said after the U.S. announced the imposition of the new tariff from Aug. 1.

The company did not have an immediate comment on the status of its beef shipments to the U.S.

A recent shortage of cattle in the U.S. increased the country’s demand for Brazilian beef imports, trade data shows. According to analysts, the new tariff could make beef more expensive for the U.S. consumer.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier and Ana Mano; Writing by Ana Mano, Editing by Franklin Paul)