U.S. exports of beef and pork were down in April from a year earlier as shipments to China slowed due in part to China’s retaliatory tariffs,  the U.S. Meat Export Federation said Friday.

The expiration of Chinese registrations of U.S. processing plants and cold storage facilities also contributed to the decline in exports, the group said.

Beef exports were down 10% from April 2024 as shipments to China declined by nearly 70%. Beef exports also were lower to Mexico, Taiwan and the Middle East, offsetting increases to South Korea, Japan and Central and South America, the group said.

China’s duties on U.S. exports hit 147% in April in response to tariffs President Donald Trump imposed on Chinese exports but were lowered to 32% in May.

Trump announced Friday that Chinese officials will be meeting in London on Monday with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer. “The meeting should go very well,” the president added in a social media post.

Beef exports down by 3% from January through April from the same period a year ago to 411,027 metric tons. By value, the year-over-year decline in beef exports was just 1% to $3.35 billion for January through April.

“We expected beef shipments to China to hit a wall in April, due to the one-two punch of higher tariffs and expired plant registrations,” USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom said in a release. “We are hopeful that these issues will be resolved soon and are encouraged by this week’s developments on trade negotiations with China.

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Pork exports dropped 15% from a year ago to 237,250 metric tons and were down 35% to China. The value of the exports was down 13%. For January through April, pork exports were 5% below the same period last year by volume and down 4% by value.

Still, Halstrom said in an interview with Agri-Pulse at World Pork Expo in Iowa that his group was still optimistic about pork exports this year.

“If things stay where they’re at today on the conditions, we’re forecasting similar performance to a year ago, which was a record. So that’s good news,” he said.

Beef exports are expected to drop 6% this year, largely because of the situation with China, he said.

Lydia Johnson contributed to this report. 

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