USCA: Beef imports should not be exempt from forced labor tariffs
WASHINGTON, D.C. — United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) is urging the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to reverse course on a proposal that would exempt all beef products from Section 301 penalties tied to forced labor investigations—including beef from Brazil and Argentina.
In testimony both submitted and verbally presented this week, USCA made one central point clear: if USTR is serious about forced labor, beef imports cannot be given a free pass, no exceptions. Director of Policy & Public Affairs Jenna Stanton stated USCA’s perspective clearly in her testimony presented today:
“American cattle producers are not looking for a way out. They are fighting for every possible reason to stay in. But if the United States keeps the door open to cheap beef from countries that play below the law and tolerate forced labor, we will make that decision for them. We will push them out of an industry they love not because they failed, but because they refused to cheat.”
Through submitted testimony and live testimony delivery, USCA’s engagement in this 301 investigation highlights three core concerns:
Documented abuse in Brazil: Brazil’s Ministry of Labor has repeatedly placed cattle operations on its “Dirty List” for using conditions analogous to slavery.
A growing back door through Argentina: As Argentina’s herd shrinks under drought and economic crisis, imports of Brazilian beef into Argentina have surged by more than 4,000 percent in the last year. That trend raises the risk that Brazilian product can be blended or rerouted through Argentina and enter the U.S. market under an Argentine label.
Direct harm to U.S. cattle producers: Independent U.S. producers cannot compete, long‑term, against imported beef that’s cheaper because it’s produced under labor conditions that would be illegal here.
“This is about the kind of market we want to run,” President Justin Tupper said. “If you let beef raised with forced labor come in with no consequences, you’re rewarding the cheapest, dirtiest way of doing business. Tariffs are one of the few tools we have to tell the market exactly this: if you cut corners on people and the law, you don’t get the U.S. consumer as a reward. If we don’t send that signal, we shouldn’t be surprised when our own cattle numbers keep shrinking, because producers will be forced to exit when it’s clear there’s no fair share of the market left for them here at home.”
USCA is calling on USTR to:
-Remove the blanket exemption for beef and explicitly include bovine products from all countries, including Brazil and Argentina, found guilty through the investigation within the scope of any Section 301 tariffs or penalties tied to forced labor.
-Set tariffs at a meaningful level that actually changes sourcing behavior and eliminates the artificial discount created when labor laws are ignored.
-Refuse lower tariff rates based on promises alone and instead reserve any relief for countries that can demonstrate—with real traceability and real enforcement—that forced‑labor cases in their cattle and beef sectors are truly declining.
“Consumers are telling you with their wallets that they want beef and are willing to pay for it,” Stanton said in her testimony to USTR. “What they are not asking is for you to quietly replace American beef with foreign beef raised under conditions we would never allow here.”
To read more about the Section 301 process, see the most recent notice from USTR.
