Rep. Troy Downing (R-Mont.) warned that President Donald Trump’s expansion of lower-tariff beef imports risks pulling “the rug out from underneath” U.S. ranchers as the White House tries to cool record grocery prices.
Downing Warns Ranchers Need Market Stability
“Our ranchers that are producing the best beef in the world, they need to have market stability,” Downing told NewsNation on Tuesday. When Washington changes markets as cattle reach buyers, he said, falling prices “hurt them.”
Trump’s Aug. 26 proclamation adds 300,000 metric tons of lean beef trimmings to the lower-tariff quota for 90 days beginning Sept. 1, split into three 100,000-ton tranches. The White House says the imports are for ground beef and encouraged sales at a 25% discount.
Trump has defended the policy, saying, “We want to get the beef prices down,” while insisting ranchers “need a little help.” His administration has rolled out support for smaller processors and herd rebuilding, including a $500 million meatpacking initiative and new USDA loan and grazing measures.
USDA counted 94.2 million cattle and calves on U.S. farms July 1, including 28.5 million beef cows, down 1% from a year earlier. Reuters says drought, wildfires and Mexican cattle restrictions helped drive supplies to a 75-year low and beef prices to records.
Economists Doubt Imports Will Lower Prices
Economists, however, question how much consumers will save. Kansas State University agricultural economist Glynn Tonsor told the Associated Press in August that the added imports equal roughly 3% of annual U.S. beef consumption, calling the scale “pretty small.” David Anderson, a professor of agricultural economics at Texas A&M University, questioned whether exporters could redirect that volume within 90 days.
Republicans Join Ranchers In Import Backlash
Downing’s Republican peers have echoed him. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) said last week that cheaper groceries cannot come “at the expense of American producers,” while Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy said Trump’s “heart is in the right place” but warned imports could harm ranching families.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association also said the move sacrifices “long-term stability for short-term messaging,” after blasting the import plan as election-year politics.
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