Politico’s Grace Yarrow reported that “President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday that aims to lower ground beef prices by dramatically boosting imports from other countries despite outrage from Republicans and allies in the beef industry. Trump’s proclamation will remove tariffs from 300,000 metric tons of imported lean beef trimmings for 90 days. He said the countries supplying the beef would sell it at 25 percent below current market prices, as he first announced on Truth Social Friday.”
“Trump’s proclamation does not specify which countries will supply the beef imports, as questions have swirled about which countries even have the supply of trimmings to export in the short term,” Yarrow reported. “Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters Tuesday that she was not ‘privy’ to that information and that U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was working closely with Trump on the details of the imports.”
“Trump said he could also halt the increased imports if beef prices don’t come down or if countries do not sell at a 25 percent discount the president said he had negotiated,” Yarrow reported. “‘If the action taken in this proclamation does not result in a lower sale price of imported ground beef, I may end the action taken in this proclamation in order to, among other things, prevent a windfall to foreign producers,’ Trump said in the proclamation.”
Major Livestock Groups Protest the Import Plan
Yarrow reported that “a new wave of industry backlash from the American Farm Bureau Federation, Livestock Marketing Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and United States Cattlemen’s Association took hold before the White House released Wednesday’s proclamation.”
Drovers’ Angie Stump Denton reported that “the joint letter — signed by the leadership of the Livestock Marketing Association (LMA), American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), and the United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) — warns that the policy will devastate domestic cattle markets, discourage vital herd-rebuilding efforts, and ultimately compromise America’s long-term food security.“
“For domestic cattle producers, the timing could not be worse,” Stump Denton reported. “‘The stated purpose of driving down beef prices and the commitment to sell it at a price that undercuts domestic supply send a disheartening message to farmers and ranchers across the country,’ the coalition writes. ‘This announcement has already driven cattle markets sharply lower and undermines producers at a critical time of year when they are marketing cattle and making herd-building decisions.'”
“While the coalition shares the President’s goal of keeping groceries affordable for American families, they argue that flooding the market with heavily discounted foreign product is a short-sighted strategy,” Stump Denton reported. “‘Ranchers and farmers are finally experiencing the strong beef demand needed to invest in their operations,’ the letter states. ‘This announcement will discourage investment in the U.S. cow herd and undo the progress producers have made. We are deeply concerned that this import strategy sacrifices long-term food security for a short-term solution.'”
Other State and Local Livestock Groups Are Also Protesting the Plan
Oklahoma Farm Report wrote before Trump signed the proclamation that “R-CALF USA and 12 state and local cattle associations representing thousands of cattle producers across nine states sent a joint letter to President Donald J. Trump Monday urging him to reconsider a reported proposal to allow an additional 300,000 metric tons of imported beef to enter the United States without over-quota tariffs for 90 days.“
“The letter argues that rebuilding the U.S. cattle herd requires restoring producer confidence that investments made today to expand production will retain their value in the years ahead,” Oklahoma Farm Report wrote. “The groups warned that additional imports, combined with concentration and market power in the packing and retail sectors, will further discourage producers from making the long-term investments necessary to expand the herd.”
“Rather than increasing imports, the cattle associations urged the administration to restore mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef, restore competition and price discovery in cattle markets by addressing unpriced forward contracts, and implement phased-in tariff rate quotas to ensure future investments in U.S. cattle production are not undercut by excessive imports,” Oklahoma Farm Report wrote.
