The move prompted blowback from cattle ranchers and Republicans who
represent them.
·
Import
plan: President Trump announced plans to allow
up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef into
the US over the next 90 days at
lower tariffs.
·
Tariff
relief: The beef would enter with no
out-of-quota tariff, with the President saying exporters
would offer a 25% discount from
the current market price.
·
Current
price: Ground beef is currently around $6.89
per pound.
·
Executive
order: The White House said Trump would issue an
executive order within two weeks to
remove the applicable tariffs.
·
Supplier
unclear: Trump did not identify the countries,
exporters, distribution channels or mechanism
through which the 25% discount would be provided.
·
Brazil
a likely supplier: Brazil is considered one of the few
countries capable of supplying significant quantities within 90 days. Other
major suppliers include Australia, New Zealand and Uruguay.
·
US
production dominance: More than 80%
of beef consumed in the US is domestically produced,
limiting the impact that additional imports may have on overall prices.
·
Rancher
opposition: US cattle groups criticised the plan,
arguing that subsidised below-market imports could hurt
ranchers and discourage expansion of the domestic cattle herd.
·
Political
opposition: Some Republican lawmakers from
cattle-producing states also opposed the move, saying it could undermine
incentives for increased domestic production.
·
Brazil-US
talks: Brazilian President Luiz
Inácio Lula da Silva spoke with Trump and stressed the need
for further tariff negotiations, although Brazil was not officially identified
as the supplier.
·
Beef
price increase: US ground beef prices have risen 24%
since Trump returned to office in January 2025,
according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
·
Cattle
herd shortage: US cattle numbers are at their lowest
level since the 1950s, following drought, low margins and years
of herd reductions.
·
Long-term
solution: Ranchers and economists argue that
sustainably lowering beef prices requires rebuilding
the US cattle herd, which could take several years.
·
Earlier
Argentina measure: Trump previously authorised an additional
80,000 MT of tariff-free ground beef
imports from Argentina.
·
US
beef imports: The US imported nearly 1.9
million MT of beef and beef products in 2025.
·
Mexico
cattle imports: The US plans to gradually
reopen imports of live cattle from Mexico,
which were halted in May 2025 over concerns about the screwworm fly.
·
Key
concern: The measure may provide short-term
relief for consumers, but ranchers warn that increased imports
could undermine the long-term expansion of domestic cattle
production.
[ABS News Service/22.08.2026]
President Trump will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef
to be imported into the United States with lower tariffs over the next 90 days,
he said in a social media post Friday morning,
a bid to lower the cost of a staple food for Americans pinched by higher prices.
The beef will be imported with “no out of quota tariff” and sold
25 percent below the current market price, which is $6.89 per pound, he said.
The president provided almost no details about how his plan would
work, but the news seemed to surprise and anger ranchers. He did not say which countries
the beef would come from, where it would be sold or how it would be discounted 25
percent.
A White House official said the president would sign an executive
order to remove the tariffs within the next two weeks. In exchange for the tariff
relief, the president had secured a deal with foreign beef exporters to provide
a 25 percent discount, he said.
The official did not specify which foreign exporters he was referring
to, or which country the beef was from.
“This action, during a time of record high demand for beef, will
help address the affordability of beef, after our nation’s cattle supply fell to
its lowest level in 75 years under the Biden administration,” the Agriculture Department
said.
More than 80 percent of the beef Americans consume is produced in
the United States, meaning that even an increase in beef imports is unlikely to
radically increase the supply of beef and lower prices.
Groups representing ranchers said the plan was only a short-term
fix for consumers, and would hurt ranchers and discourage them from increasing the
supply of American cattle and reducing prices over the longer term.
“While America’s cattle producers share the goal of keeping groceries
affordable for consumers, flooding the market with government-subsidized, below-market
beef is not the way to rebuild the American cattle herd,” said Colin Woodall, the
chief executive of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
The plan was also blasted by some Republican lawmakers who represent
large cattle-raising areas.
“At a time when ranchers need certainty to increase domestic production,
this sends the wrong signal,” Representative Julie Fedorchak of North Dakota, said
in a statement.
Montana Senator Tim Sheehy wrote on social media that he had “advised President Trump against this course of action
for a year.”
The government of Brazil, a major provider of U.S. beef imports,
said that its president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, had spoken on the phone with
Mr. Trump on Friday. The Brazilian president emphasized the need for further tariff
talks, the government said.
The statement did not mention beef, and the White House did not respond
to a question about whether Brazil would be supplying the beef. But Brazil is one
of the few countries that could export large amounts of beef to the United States
within the next 90 days, fulfilling the 300,000 metric ton goal.
Only six countries exported more than 100,000 metric tons to the
United States last year, and two of them, Canada and Mexico, already export their
beef without tariffs because of free trade agreements. Brazil, Australia, New Zealand
and Uruguay are the other four.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly imposed tariffs in an effort to protect
U.S. markets, raise revenue for the U.S. government and goad foreign countries into
making concessions. But the levies have also pushed up U.S. consumer prices, according to economists, crashing headlong
into Mr. Trump’s promises to help alleviate the cost of living for Americans.
The White House has struggled to address persistently high grocery
prices, especially high beef prices. Since Mr. Trump returned to office in January
2025, the price of ground beef has risen 24 percent, according to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics.
The only durable way to lower beef prices, ranchers and economists
said, is to increase the size of the American cattle herd. U.S. cattle numbers are
the smallest since the 1950s, after years of drought and low margins resulted in
cattle producers reducing the size of their herds or leaving the business. It takes
years for ranchers to increase the size of the country’s herd, and there is little
evidence they have taken steps to do so over the past 18 months.
“Today’s announcement and other market interventions throw cold water
on the prospect of herd expansion and sacrifices long-term stability for short-term
messaging,” Mr. Woodall said.
This year, the president signed an executive order to allow imports of an additional
80,000 metric tons of ground beef from Argentina without tariffs. Last year, the
United States imported almost 1.9 million metric tons of beef and beef products,
according to Census Bureau trade data.
Another small increase in the beef supply could be on the horizon.
Live cattle imports from Mexico were halted in May 2025 over fears of the spread
of the flesh-eating screwworm fly. But with the fly having reached the United States this summer, the Agriculture Department plans to slowly reopen the southern
border to Mexican cattle starting on Monday.