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Trump’s tariffs: Why won’t countries buy US meat products?
US President Donald Trump wants other countries to import more American beef and poultry. Several countries restrict importing these products for decades because they don’t meet their food safety regulations.
In an announcement on April 2, Trump called out Australian restrictions on US beef, saying: “We imported $3 billion of Australian beef from them just last year alone. They won’t take any of our beef.”
His administration also singled out the UK and EU for “non-science-based” restrictions on importing US beef, and Argentina for its ban of live US cattle exports.
Trump has used these import bans as part of his rationale to impose new trade tariffs.
Who do countries ban US beef imports?
There are different reasons why Australia, Argentina, the EU and the UK don’t import some American beef products.
For Australia and Argentina, the restrictions date back to 2003 when bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was detected in US cattle. BSE is a disease which affects the nervous system of cattle caused by misfolded proteins known as prions. It’s also known as Mad Cow Disease.
Humans can become infected with the disease when they eat meat contaminated with BSE. It is known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. Globally, a total of 233 people have died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease after eating BSE-infected.
US health authorities reduced the spread of BSE among US cattle sufficiently to see the ban on beef exports to Australia lifted in 2019.
“There may be a feeling from some producers or companies in the US that Australia is banning US beef, but there’s no ban in place,” said Robyn Alders, a veterinary scientist at the Australian National University.
But US imports are still restricted if they don’t meet Australia’s strict biosecurity laws. For US beef to be allowed into Australia, US cattle farmers must prove their cattle are entirely bred, grown and slaughtered in the US.
“To do that [tracing] in a way that would still make their product a cost-efficient thing to ship that product across to Australia, there are very few companies — virtually none at the moment — that are willing to take that on,” Alders said.
Argentina lifted its BSE ban on American beef products in 2018 but has maintained the restriction on live cattle imports until the two countries finalize a new “sanitary certificate”.
No added hormones for Europe and the UK
The EU and UK have restricted US beef imports since 1989 because the US cattle industry sometimes uses growth hormones to increase meat and milk yields. The EU does import non-hormone-treated beef from the US.
US dairy and cattle farmers routinely use hormones like estradiol 17ß and testosterone to promote faster growth and improve feed efficiency.
The EU’s ban rationale, which is also maintained by the UK post-Brexit, is based on its own scientific evaluation showing that daily intake of growth hormones can have negative health impacts, including evidence that estradiol 17ß can cause cancerous tumor growth.
The US cattle industry has argued against the EU’s restrictions, saying food safety testing in the US shows no risk to adult health.
“[However], the European perspective is that the entire population does not consist only of health adults, but [also] of infants, children, the elderly, the immunologically compromised,” said Erik Millstone, an expert in food and science policy at the University of Sussex, UK.
“EU authorities have done a much more comprehensive assessment of the risk of consuming hormone-treated beef [compared to US authorities],” Millstone said.
Chlorinated chicken banned in Europe too
The US has also criticized EU bans on importing US poultry that has been cleaned in chlorine.
US poultry farmers wash poultry meat in chlorine solutions to kill harmful bacteria such as campylobacter, which commonly causes food poisoning.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has said that chemical substances in poultry meat are unlikely to pose a health risk for consumers.
However, European authorities are concerned that rinsing chicken in chlorine at the end of the food production process allows lower standards of hygiene and animal welfare in earlier stages. EU regulations legislate animal welfare at all stages of the “farm to fork” process.
Millstone also that some research shows that chlorine rinsing may not actually have the intended effect of decontaminating meat.
“The chlorinated water was not an effective disinfectant. The bacteria remained in place, remained pathogenic, remained dangerous, infectious, but were just not detected,” Millstone said.
As a result, rates of bacterial food poisoning in the US are substantially higher than they are in the European Union or UK, said Millstone.
What do US producers need to do?
For the time being, US animal farming practices are either incompatible or too impractical to meet the food safety demands of export markets.
Australia and Argentina are open to importing US beef, but US producers must meet their regulatory standards.
For the UK and EU, it’s a more difficult path, which would require US producers to cease using growth hormones in beef production and end the practice of chlorine washing in poultry.
Polling data suggest Europeans are against allowing US meat products in — a 2020 poll found 80 per cent of the British public are against allowing imports of chlorinated chicken.
How Yakubu Gowon decided to enter the Army is quite interesting. Encouraged by his British Principal and Vice-Principal to go military, he was nevertheless torn between a career in the Army and competing options as a teacher, engineer, or physician. So he wrote out the options on little pieces of paper placed them inside a Bible and prayed. Then, with his eyes closed, he opened the Bible and picked one at random. It was the Army.
Throughout his military career he would repeatedly approach issues with a r!fle in one hand and a Bible in the other. Years later he would come to be regarded by most as a model of a “kinder, gentler” soldier. Some have nicknamed him “The Preacher”.
In 1954, after passing an entrance examination, he attended several interviews before being sent to the Regular Officers Cadet School at Teshie in Ghana – along with Patrick Anwuna, Alexander Madiebo, Michael Okwechime and Arthur Unegbe. This was followed by a course at Eton Hall in Chester, UK, followed by formal cadet training at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst (RMAS). He was a Cadet Sergeant at the RMAS and was commissioned 2/Lt in December 1956. It was at the RMAS that he acquired the nickname “Jack,” the closest sound to “Yakubu” his British instructors could think of.
The above is part of a piece put lol together by Nowa Omoigui, Nigerian military historian and cardiologist.
Gowon later became Head of State and had one of the most troubling dispensation in the history of Nigeria. He was removed from office in 1975 by Murtala Muhammed.
On how he survived immediately after his removal from office, he said in an interview:
“I can say with absolute authority that I may not have anything today, but honestly, at least I have a clear conscience. I thank Idi Amin and (Gnassingbé) Eyadema for the help they gave me to have money to start off with.”
Ethnic African Stories
The Imo State born writer and teacher who is largely referred to as the “mother of African Literature”, was the first African woman to publish a novel in English.
Flora belived that African women were unjustly portrayed (in the books of her male counterparts) as people who were doubly malleable, as people who didn’t have even a vestige voice of their own: people who must, for instance, eat fufu not exactly because they wanted to eat fufu but because men insisted that they eat fufu, people who must live in the shadows of men… So she basically did the opposite of this in her books where she gave women prime places, using her pen to unfold to the whole world, in concrete clarity, what she believed ought to be the generally accepted societal ethos.
She celebrated the strength, tenacity and courage of African women, told their success stories in glittering terms, and sang their praises to the stratosphere.
She was born January 13, 92 years ago in Oguta – Imo State, and passed away on October 13, 1993, after enduring a server bout of pneumonia.
Michael Ibru was a pioneering Nigerian entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of the Ibru Organisation, one of the most influential business groups in West Africa. His life reflects ambition, discipline, and the transformation of opportunity into a diversified empire.
Early Life and Background
Born in 1930, Michael Ibru hailed from Agbarha-Otor, near Ughelli.
He was the eldest of seven children in a prominent family. His mother was the daughter of the wealthy Ovedje Osadjere of Olomu, which placed him within a lineage of both traditional influence and commercial awareness.
Growing up in the Niger Delta region, young Ibru was exposed early to trade, mobility, and the importance of enterprise in coastal and riverine communities.
Education and Formative Years
A defining stage of his early life was his education at Igbobi College Yaba, one of Nigeria’s most prestigious secondary schools at the time.
At Igbobi College, Michael Ibru distinguished himself not only academically but also in leadership, eventually serving as Senior Prefect. This position reflected his discipline, influence, and ability to lead peers—qualities that later shaped his business career.
His time at the institution helped refine his worldview and exposed him to structured education during a period when Nigeria was still under colonial administration.
Early Career and Exposure to Business
After completing his studies, he briefly worked with the United Africa Company (UAC), one of the most powerful trading firms operating in West Africa at the time.
This experience exposed him to:
Large-scale import and export systems
Corporate structure and logistics
Commercial distribution networks
However, rather than remain in salaried employment, he chose the path of entrepreneurship—a decision that would redefine his life and legacy.
The Birth of a Business Empire
In 1956, Michael Ibru founded a frozen fish business.
At the time, frozen food distribution was still relatively new in Nigeria, and Ibru identified a gap in the market: the need for affordable, preserved protein sources in urban centres.
His venture quickly expanded due to:
Strong demand for fish in growing cities
Efficient supply chain management
Strategic importation and distribution systems
This modest beginning became the foundation of what would evolve into the Ibru Organisation.
Expansion into a Conglomerate
Over time, the Ibru Organisation grew into a diversified business empire spanning multiple sectors, including:
Food and seafood processing
Aviation and logistics
Hospitality and real estate
Finance and banking
Oil and marine services
Media and publishing
Agriculture and industrial production
The group became one of the largest family-owned conglomerates in West Africa, with numerous subsidiaries operating across Nigeria and beyond.
Rather than relying on a single industry, Michael Ibru built a multi-sectoral business model, which helped the organisation withstand economic fluctuations and remain competitive for decades.
Leadership Style and Business Philosophy
Michael Ibru was widely regarded as a strategic thinker who believed in:
Identifying unmet market needs
Investing in scalable industries
Building long-term institutional structures
Empowering family-led continuity in business
His leadership approach combined traditional values with modern corporate thinking, allowing the Ibru Organisation to grow into a structured enterprise rather than a short-term venture.
Philanthropy and Social Impact
Beyond commerce, Michael Ibru was deeply committed to philanthropy.
His contributions included:
Support for education and scholarships
Community development initiatives
Investment in youth empowerment
Assistance to local infrastructure and social welfare projects
He believed that business success should translate into societal progress, particularly in education and opportunity creation.
Legacy of the Ibru Organisation
The Ibru Organisation remains one of Nigeria’s most recognised business groups, continuing to operate through various subsidiaries across sectors.
Its legacy is defined by:
Industrial diversification
Private sector growth in post-independence Nigeria
Family-led business continuity
Contribution to West Africa’s economic development
From a young student at Igbobi College Yaba to the founder of a continental business empire, Michael Ibru represents the story of vision, risk-taking, and entrepreneurial excellence.
His journey shows how observation, opportunity, and courage can transform a simple idea—like frozen fish distribution—into a legacy that shaped industries across Africa.
Source
Biographical and historical records on Michael Ibru
Public information on the development of the Ibru Organisation
Educational history of Igbobi College Yaba
Historical context of Nigerian post-colonial entrepreneurship and trade development
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