As beef prices remain at record highs, President Donald Trump announced Friday that the U.S. will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef products to be imported without tariffs.
But U.S. ranchers, who have dealt with dwindling herds because of drought, disease and high operating costs, say the move is ill-advised. In a statement, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said Trump’s decision could “throw cold water on the prospect of herd expansion” and sacrifice long-term market stability.
At least two Republican lawmakers agreed.
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Foreign beef headed to US
Despite the opposition, the White House said Trump will sign an executive order temporarily waiving the 26.4% tariff.
“As we work to rebuild this herd and help our ranchers, for the next 90 days, the United States will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef to be imported with no out-of-quota tariff,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“We have a commitment that this beef will be sold at 25 percent below current market prices,” he wrote. “This deal will reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again.”
He did not say, however, which companies had agreed to sell beef at lower prices or where it would come from.
Republican criticism
Republican politicians quickly criticized Trump’s upcoming order.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a frequent critic of Trump, called the move a “slap in the face to American cattlemen & consumers.”
“Dumping foreign beef in U.S. markets can temporarily lower prices, but it won’t incentivize American farmers to raise more beef,” Massie wrote on X.
Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., also responded on X, saying he previously advised Trump against “this course of action.”
“American ranchers have been struggling against the packer monopoly for decades, and this will further harm them — most of whom are MAGA Republicans,” Sheehy wrote.
He added that the president’s “heart is in the right place. … But the reality is this action will make it more difficult for American ranchers to rebuild our herd and bring prices down for the American people. And most importantly, this will harm our ranching families who feed the nation.”
Rising beef prices
Beef prices have risen about 9.4% this year — three times faster than grocery prices overall. The average price for a pound of beef in July was $6.89, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, which tracks beef prices using Labor Department data. That’s about twice as high as in August 2013.
As Straight Arrow previously reported, the rising prices are connected to the current cattle herd in the U.S., which is at its lowest level in roughly 70 years. Drought conditions, cattle diseases and soaring operation costs have all forced ranches to downsize or liquidate their herds.
And rebuilding those herds will take time. In fact, analysts estimate it could take a decade to reverse the shortage.
“Cattle farmers and ranchers are responding to strong market signals and historically high demand, and we are already working to rebuild after years of ongoing drought, high input costs and other challenges that have reduced U.S. cattle numbers,” the cattlemen’s association wrote in its statement.
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