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.
Place a duty on imported Australian Wagyu beef and pursue a reciprocal trade agreement with Australia for Wagyu beef.
Occurrences
Evidence
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Sponsor: Rep. Stutzman, Marlin A. [R-IN-3] (Introduced 03/26/2025). Latest Action: House - 03/26/2025 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. The bill text states: “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.”
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The Protect American Beef Act “will grant the President the authority to take actions as necessary, including placing a duty on imported Australian Wagyu beef, to establish a reciprocal trade agreement between the United States and Australia as it concerns beef products.”
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Foreign trade: place duty on imported Australian Wagyu beef and establish reciprocal trade agreement between U.S. and Australia relative to Wagyu beef (H.R. 2393), H1303 [26MR].
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House floor proceedings show Stutzman’s bill, “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,” entered the record on March 26, 2025.
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CBP guidance says Australia-origin articles are assessed an additional 12.5% Section 301 duty except for products described in exemption headings, and the linked HTS list places beef headings 0201, 0202, 0206, and 0210.20 in the 9903.05.86 exemption list.
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USTR's current Agreements on Reciprocal Trade page lists agreements for Malaysia, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Argentina, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Indonesia, Ecuador, and Jordan; Australia is not listed.
Assessments
Stutzman introduced H.R. 2393, the Protect American Beef Act, in the 119th Congress to authorize a duty on imported Australian Wagyu beef and pursue a reciprocal U.S.-Australia Wagyu beef agreement, so there was a serious same-term legislative effort. But the bill only reached committee referral, no Wagyu-specific Australian beef duty appears to have been imposed, and current USTR reciprocal trade agreement listings do not show an Australia or Wagyu beef agreement. Because the promised outcome was not delivered despite a material attempt, this is a failed promise with effort credit.
Stutzman clearly took concrete action on this promise by introducing H.R. 2393, the Protect American Beef Act, in March 2025. The bill text directly matches the promise: it sought both a duty on imported Australian Wagyu beef and a reciprocal U.S.-Australia Wagyu beef trade agreement. However, the evidence shows only introduction and referral to the House Ways and Means Committee, with no enactment, no imposed duty, and no completed reciprocal trade agreement. Under the rubric, a serious legislative attempt that did not achieve the promised policy outcome is scored as never, with effort_badge true.