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"Trump’s trade war tantrum just cost American farmers billions," reads , with the poster suggesting China "shifting" its business to Canada and Brazil was a consequence of U.S. tariffs against China and Canada. 

Similar claims appeared on Facebook on and , garnering hundreds of comments and thousands of likes on the platform. 

Rating: False

According to a from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), four of the country's beef establishments that export to China had their registration lapse on the (GACC) website. 

GACC is the Chinese agency responsible for the regulation of trade, including the management of goods flowing into and out of the country. 

Businesses that manufacture, process, or store food must register with GACC, the ²Ô´Ç³Ù±ð²õ.Ìý

In its report, the USDA said China had yet to act on its request to renew the registration of the four beef facilities and 80 others that export dairy, pork and poultry. 

"While these facilities represent a portion of the overall number eligible to export to China … (they are) now listed as 'overdue' for their expiry date renewal," the report reads. 

The USDA said there was no evidence of shipments from the facilities being "delayed or refused customs clearance" and added that in similar situations GACC allowed trade from facilities with an expired registration to continue until they could be updated. 

The report said that while GACC seemed to be allowing shipments from the facilities to continue despite the lapsed registration, hundreds more U.S. establishments face an expired registration in March and April. 

On Monday, industry groups said for U.S. pork and poultry facilities whose registration expired in February, but did not include any beef facilities. 

°µÍø½ûÇø found no evidence of a blanket cancellation on U.S. beef imports to China, and neither China nor the United States have made such a claim. 

The Chinese Ministry of Finance on certain U.S. agricultural products, including beef, on March 4, in response to U.S. tariffs on China.

Other retaliatory actions include placing on 25 U.S. firms, suspending soybean import licences for three firms and of U.S. lumber.

Such actions suggest the lapsed GACC registrations could be related to trade tensions with the United States — but again, there is no evidence to support a total ban on U.S. beef. 

There is evidence to suggest China turning its attention to Canada for beef imports is equally false; Canadian beef hasn't been allowed to enter the country since late 2021. 

Canadian beef still banned in China

China after an atypical case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) occurred in a cow on an Alberta farm in December 2021.

Although there since 2021 and the Philippines and South Korea quickly reversed their trade restrictions on Canadian beef, China did not. 

A March 2024 visit to China by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency yielded no results with regard to the beef or pet food ban (China also banned dry pet food containing poultry in 2022). 

China cited "the need to conduct risk assessments, the importance of protecting Chinese consumers, and the lack of internal resources to deal with a large volume of market access requests," summarizing the visit. 

"Despite Canada providing all of the technical information requested by China, China has provided neither justification for the prohibition, nor timeframes for restoring trade," the briefing document ²Ô´Ç³Ù±ð²õ.Ìý

In November 2024, the former minister of agriculture for "full restoration of market access for Canadian beef" during a visit to China. 

The Canadian Meat Council, a meat industry advocacy group, said it was not aware of China cancelling U.S. beef imports or its Canadian beef ban. 

"The current state of the meat trade between Canada and China remains the same, with the beef ban still in place," a spokesperson wrote in an email.

In a statement, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada called the trade barriers placed by China on Canadian agricultural products like beef "arbitrary" and harmful to Canadian producers and exporters. 

The department said China instructed Canada to stop issuing export certificates for all beef products after the BSE case in 2021, with Canada providing all requested information about the case since then. 

"However, China Customs has yet to provide timelines for the restoration of trade. Canadian beef has been locked out of the Chinese market for over three years now," the statement reads. 

The department noted that under the World Organisation for Animal Health standards, the detection and reporting of the BSE case did not affect Canada's status as having "negligible risk" for BSE. 

"Canada continues to press China at every available opportunity, both at the bilateral and multilateral level, to resolve current trade issues, respect international trade rules and base its trade measures on scientific principles," the department said. 

According to a report from industry group , China was Canada's fourth largest beef export market by volume in 2021 at $193 million. 

Sources

Claims posted to X on March 12, 2025 () and () and Facebook on March 10 () and 12 ()

Exporter Alert - Lack of Response by China Customs on Establishment Registrations Creates Challenges for United States Protein Exports. United States Department of Agriculture . Feb. 25, 2025 ()

General Administration of Customs of China English , accessed March 18, 2025 ()

China (People's Republic of) - CIFER - Guidance for industry. Canadian Food Inspection Agency via Government of Canada . Accessed March 19, 2025 ()

Announcement of the State Council Tariff Commission on imposing additional tariffs on some imported goods originating from the United States. Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China . March 4, 2025 ()

Mei Mei Chu, Tom Polansek, Julie Steenhuysen. China renews export registrations for US pork, poultry plants, industry groups say. Reuters via Canadian Cattlemen . March 17, 2025 ()

China imposes new curbs on U.S. firms as trade row grows. Reuters . March 4, 2025 ()

Mei Mei Chu and Ella Cao. China targets US soybeans, lumber in stepped-up response to Trump tariffs. Reuters . March 4, 2025 ()

Rod Nickel. China, Philippines suspend beef imports from Canada after BSE case. Reuters via Calgary Herald . Jan. 10, 2022 ()

Confirmed cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Canadian Food Inspection Agency via Government of Canada . Accessed March 19, 2025 ()

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs appearance before the House of Commons Special Committee on Canada-People’s Republic of China Relations (CACN). Global Affairs Canada via Government of Canada . June 17, 2024, published Oct. 10, 2024 ()

Minister MacAulay concludes productive visit to China. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada via Government of Canada . Nov. 19, 2024 ()

Canada Beef Annual Report 2021/22 p. 15, Canada Beef . August 2022, accessed March 19, 2025 ()

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