By Kylie Madry
Aug 28 (Reuters) - Argentina's booming beef exports to the United States could face a new test after Washington moved to widen tariff-free access for suppliers, potentially increasing competition from neighboring cattle powerhouse Brazil, according to a report on Friday.
Argentina's beef volumes to the U.S. tripled in the first seven months of this year. Shipments to the U.S. accounted for nearly 20% of all beef exports - underscoring how important the market has become for Argentina,
according to an analysis published by the Rosario trade exchange.
• The surge has been driven by strong U.S. demand as domestic cattle supplies tighten, particularly for lean beef used in hamburgers and processed foods. Argentina has preferential access for 100,000 metric tons of beef exports to the U.S. this year, and has made use of 61% of that total so far.
• But exporters are now watching a new proposal by President Donald Trump to open a 90-day, tariff-free quota of up to 300,000 metric tons of imported beef for grinding, aimed at boosting supply and lowering ground beef prices in the U.S.
• Argentina, which would not be eligible for the added preferential access, could lose the ground that helped fuel this year's export surge, the exchange said. It could also favor Brazil, a much larger exporter that is looking for alternative markets as access to China tightens and uncertainty grows over shipments to the European Union.
(Reporting by Kylie Madry. Editing by Lucinda Elliott)
