Sponsors (3)
The bill protects and boosts incomes for domestic sheep and wool producers but does so at the cost of higher prices for consumers and increased input costs and competitive risks for downstream U.S. businesses, with a material risk of foreign retaliation.
Domestic sheep farmers, U.S. wool processors, and related rural small businesses will face less foreign competition, likely boosting sales, prices, and demand for domestically sourced wool and lamb (benefiting textile and meat producers that source locally).
Many consumers—including middle-class families and rural households—are likely to pay higher prices for lamb, wool products, and related goods because imports from two major suppliers would become substantially more expensive.
U.S. businesses that rely on imported Australian/New Zealand sheep products (apparel, textiles, foodservice) and downstream manufacturers will face higher input costs, potential supply disruptions, squeezed margins, and reduced international competitiveness—raising prices for customers and risking lost export market share and jobs.
Australia or New Zealand could retaliate with trade measures that harm other U.S. exporters, causing broader economic losses and job impacts outside the sheep/wool sector.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Starting 30 days after enactment, imposes an additional 30% import duty on all sheep and lamb products originating in Australia or New Zealand.
Introduced January 30, 2026 by Mark E. Amodei · Last progress January 30, 2026
Imposes an additional 30% import duty on all sheep- and lamb-derived products originating in Australia or New Zealand, to begin 30 days after the law goes into effect. The extra duty is added on top of any other applicable customs duties and covers meat (lamb), pelts, wool, and other products wholly or partly derived from sheep, with statutory definitions provided for "sheep," "lamb," "sheep product," "lamb product," and "wool."