The United States lets a fixed tonnage of beef in each year at a low duty, split by country, and charges 26.4 percent on anything over it. Canada and Mexico are outside the limit. Everyone else has a line, and the line for countries without their own allocation filled on the sixth day of 2026.
This article is the quota as US Customs administers it: the allocations, the two duty rates, the fill dates, and the extra tonnage added in 2026. The companion article on imported lean covers what the quota does to the grind market.
How the quota is built
The quota lives in the US tariff schedule, in a note to chapter 2. It covers fresh and frozen beef in the main tariff lines. Inside the quota the duty is 4.4 cents a kilogram, about 2 cents a pound. Over it the duty is 26.4 percent of the value.
| Country | 2026 in-quota tonnage (metric tons) |
|---|---|
| Canada | No limit |
| Mexico | No limit |
| Australia | 378,214 |
| New Zealand | 213,402 |
| Argentina | 20,000 |
| Uruguay | 20,000 |
| United Kingdom | 13,000 |
| Other countries or areas | 52,005 |
The UK line is new for 2026. The US Trade Representative carved 13,000 tons out of the other-countries pool, which had been 65,005 tons, to give the UK its own allocation from January 1, 2026. Everything else is the same as before.
The other-countries pool is the one that matters to most of the world. Brazil has no line of its own and ships into it, as does every other exporter without an allocation or a trade agreement.
The pool fills in days
US Customs runs the quota first come, first served, and publishes a status report every week. Those reports show the other-countries pool filling earlier each year.
| Year | Other-countries pool | Filled on |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 65,005 t | March 28 |
| 2024 | 65,005 t | February 27 |
| 2025 | 65,005 t | January 17 |
| 2026 | 52,005 t | January 6 |
Once the pool fills, beef from those countries pays 26.4 percent for the rest of the calendar year. In 2026 that has been the case since the first week of January.
Where the 2026 lines stand
Customs' report dated November 2, 2026 shows the year's lines like this.
| Line | Tonnage | Used | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 378,214 t | 100% | Filled October 13 |
| New Zealand | 213,402 t | 82% | Open |
| Argentina | 20,000 t | 92% | Open |
| Uruguay | 20,000 t | 84% | Open |
| United Kingdom | 13,000 t | 3% | Open |
| Other countries | 52,005 t | 100% | Filled January 6 |
Australia filling in October is the change from last year. In 2025 its line filled on November 17, and in 2024 it never filled, ending the year at 97 percent. Australian beef that does not fit a separate line under the US-Australia trade agreement now pays the over-quota rate through December. New Zealand sits where it sat at the end of 2025, about 82 percent.
The 2026 extras
Two proclamations added tonnage this year, both for lean beef trimmings only, under four statistical lines for boneless beef. Neither touches the country allocations above.
The first, on February 6, 2026, gave Argentina an extra 80,000 tons for the year, in four quarterly tranches of 20,000 tons. The fourth tranche opened October 1 and was 74 percent used by November 2.
The second, on August 26, 2026, added 300,000 tons for the other-countries pool, in three monthly tranches of 100,000 tons. The September tranche ran September 1 to 30. The October tranche ran October 1 to 30, and Customs' October 26 report showed it 30 percent used. The November tranche opened November 2 and closes November 30, or earlier if it fills.
So the exporters locked out of the pool since January have had a door open for trimmings since September, and it has not been crowded. A tranche that was less than a third used with four days left says the lean the US wanted was not waiting on the dock.
What it means for a buyer
The duty is in the price. USDA's weekly import beef report quotes Australian, New Zealand and South American lean for delivery into the US, and the quota decides which of those lines carries a 26.4 percent duty on top of the ocean freight. From January 6 the South American lines did, outside the trimmings tranches. From October 13, so does Australian beef outside its trade-agreement line.
Canadian beef enters the US without a limit under the trade agreement, so none of this applies to it. The Canadian buyer meets the quota the other way around, in the price of the imported lean the US grind market bids for. The Canada beef quota article covers Canada's own import limits.