President Donald Trump said on Friday that tariff-free imported beef from Argentina, Brazil, and other nations will soon arrive in the U.S., part of an effort to ease high beef prices for consumers.
“It’s coming from Argentina. It’s coming from Brazil,” Trump said at an Oval Office event with ranchers and farmers, adding that “It’s coming from a couple of other places. We have our inspectors down. It’s very clean. It’s very good.”
Tariff Pause Drew Industry Backlash
Last month, Trump said that the U.S. would pause tariffs on 300,000 metric tons of beef for 90 days, offering a 25% discount below market price. Cattle groups and GOP lawmakers criticized the move, noting that it could hurt domestic ranchers.
During his Friday announcement, Trump said the measure would be carried out on a very limited basis because U.S. ranchers can handle it. However, he said, “our ranchers really needed a little bit of help, and our ranchers want the prices to be down too.”
Earlier this week, Rep. Troy Downing (R-Mont.) warned the import expansion could pull “the rug out from underneath” ranchers.
Last month, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association called the plan “100% about” the midterm elections rather than genuine support for ranchers.
According to a report by The Hill, the White House defended Trump’s decision to temporarily suspend higher tariffs on ground beef imports following a Wall Street Journal report that a Brazilian billionaire may have influenced the decision. The WSJ reported that Brazilian billionaire Joesley Batista, co-controller of JBS S.A. (NYSE:JBS), a Brazil-based company and one of the world’s largest meat processing and protein firms, reportedly met Trump a day before the announcement.
DOJ Widens Probe to Retail Giants
Beyond the tariff dispute, scrutiny over beef prices has also reached the retail level. The Justice Department has expanded its beef-price scrutiny to retailers, sending letters to Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT), Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR), Albertsons Companies Inc. (NYSE:ACI), Aldi, Publix and Ahold Delhaize.
Years of high feed costs and a shrinking national cattle herd have driven beef prices to record or near-record levels. United States Department of Agriculture data shows that the herd is now at its smallest size since 1951.
Trump’s Executive Orders and Take on “Monopoly”
On Friday, Trump signed two executive orders: one that allows ranchers to self-process and sell their own products, and another that mandates country-of-origin labeling on foreign beef and pushes for the removal of gray wolf protections, among other things.
In addition, Trump said that meat processors, including Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE:TSN), JBS S.A., Cargill and National Beef Packing Co., have a “monopoly” on the industry. “I’ve heard all about it. I’ve been listening to it … and they say they’re a very nasty group, very difficult to deal with,” said Trump. “And they cost our farmers a lot of money, and they cost our ranchers a lot of money, and they cost the public a lot of money in grief, and we’re not going to let it happen any longer.”
When asked about the timeline on the country-of-origin labeling, Trump said, “We’re putting it in front of Congress right away.”
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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