I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2393 
To place a duty on imported Australian Wagyu beef and to establish a 
reciprocal trade agreement between the United States and Australia 
as it concerns wagyu beef. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 26, 2025 
Mr. STUTZMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To place a duty on imported Australian Wagyu beef and 
to establish a reciprocal trade agreement between the 
United States and Australia as it concerns wagyu beef. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect American Beef 
Act.’’ 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Wagyu is a breed of cattle from Japan. 
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(2) Today over 20 countries around the world 
raise Wagyu based upon these foundation animals 
exported to the United States from Japan. 
(3) The Wagyu industry is growing significantly 
in the United States. 
(4) The United States is the world’s largest 
consumer of beef and an estimated 10 percent of the 
beef produced in the United States achieves the 
highest USDA grade of Prime. 
(5) The American Wagyu Association is the 
breed society for Wagyu in the United States with 
over 1,800 members who primarily raise Wagyu for 
the United States market. 
(6) There is a significant growth opportunity in 
the United States to meet consumer demand for 
Wagyu but unfortunately Australia has an unfair 
competitive advantage and is a dangerous threat to 
Wagyu producers in the United States. 
(7) Based on the United States trade agree-
ment with Australia, Australia is able to export their 
beef to the United States based on an annual quota 
of 680,000 metric tons of which 63,000 metric tons 
are Wagyu—this agreement does not allow the 
United States to export to Australia. 
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(8) A reciprocal trade agreement needs to be 
implemented. 
(9) Based on the United States/Australia cur-
rency exchange rate, the Australian dollar is valued 
at approximately 35 percent less than the United 
States dollar and therefore Australia can export its 
Wagyu to the United States at a 35 percent dis-
count. This 35 percent discount applies to Wagyu 
meat, semen and embryo sales. This 35 percent dis-
count puts the American Wagyu producer at an ex-
tremely uncompetitive financial disadvantage. 
(10) The United States Government should im-
plement a 70 percent tariff on Wagyu meat, semen 
and conventional embryos imported from Australia. 
This is necessary to create a competitive balance. 
(IVF embryos cannot currently be exported to the 
United States and despite Australia’s recent request, 
it should be kept it that way.) 
(11) Based on public information produced by 
Australia, they are targeting the United States 
Wagyu market aggressively as they realize they have 
a one-sided trade agreement and a significant finan-
cial advantage. From January 2024 to January 
2025 Australia exported 63,000 metric tons of 
Wagyu (representing 250,000 head) to the United 
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States capturing 48 percent of the United States 
Wagyu market and 70 percent of the Wagyu food 
service (restaurant) market. Simply, every pound of 
Australian Wagyu exported to America takes away 
a pound of Wagyu which could be sold by an Amer-
ican Wagyu produce. 
SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO TAKE CERTAIN ACTIONS RELATING 
TO RECIPROCAL TRADE. 
(a) IN
GENERAL.—If the President determines 
that— 
(1) the rate of duty imposed by Australia with 
respect to wagyu beef, when imported from the 
United States, is significantly higher than the rate 
of duty imposed by the United States on that wagyu 
beef products, when imported from that country, or 
(2) the nontariff barriers applied by Australia 
with respect to a wagyu, when imported from the 
United States, impose significantly higher burdens, 
alone or in combination with any tariffs imposed by 
that country on that good, than the burdens of the 
nontariff barriers applied by the United States with 
respect to that wagyu beef product, alone or in com-
bination with any tariffs imposed by the United 
States on that wagyu beef product, when imported 
from that country, 
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(A) imposing a rate of duty with respect to 
the wagyu beef products, as described in sub-
section (a)(1); or 
(B) applying nontariff barriers with re-
spect to the wagyu beef products, as described 
in subsection (a)(2); or 
(2) continued imposition of the increased rate 
of duty on imports of the wagyu beef products from 
the foreign country is not in the economic or public 
interest of the United States. 
Æ 
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