In a pair of social media posts Wednesday, President Donald Trump shot back at U.S. cattle producers, who have criticized his proposal to use Argentinian beef imports to lower U.S. consumer prices.
“The Cattle Ranchers, who I love, don’t understand that the only reason they are doing so well, for the first time in decades, is because I put Tariffs on cattle coming into the United States, including a 50% Tariff on Brazil,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“It would be nice if they would understand that, but they also have to get their prices down, because the consumer is a very big factor in my thinking, also!” he added.
The president has come under fire from the beef industry after he floated increasing U.S. imports of Argentinian beef to reduce prices, in comments to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday.
In a display of unity, every major beef industry group opposed the idea, including the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, which has often been in alignment with the administration’s policy platform.
"The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and its members cannot stand behind the President while he undercuts the future of family farmers and ranchers by importing Argentinian beef in an attempt to influence prices,” NCBA CEO Colin Woodall said in a statement Wednesday. "It is imperative that President Trump and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins let the cattle markets work."
Later, the Iowa Cattlemen's Association issued a statement complaining that Trump's comments was responsible for a drop in cattle futures Wednesday afternoon.
"Through President Trump’s continued rhetoric regarding beef prices, he continues to create undue harm to U.S. cattle producers, inhibiting their ability to make smart marketing decisions that directly impact their long-term profitability. These unnecessary market swings influence the daily lives of those working to raise a safe beef product for consumers, a product still in high demand," the statement said.
But Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., played down the impact of increased imports from Argentina. "I think everybody's way overreacting. The amount of beef we import from Argentina is like one-tenth of 1% of our beef supply," he told Agri-Pulse.
Politico reported that the administration was considering increasing beef imports from Argentina by four times the current quota.
In comments to Agri-Pulse, R-CALF CEO Bill Bullard said that while he supports the president’s tariffs on countries like Brazil, they have not been entirely responsible for high beef prices.
“Cattle prices were increasing long before the Brazil tariffs,” Bullard said.
Beef prices have hit new records this year as cattle inventories tightened to levels not seen since the early 1950s. Drought, not trade policy, has been a much larger factor in falling cattle inventory, however.
Years of sparse rainfall have led to lost grazing lands, leaving ranchers unable or reluctant to expand herd sizes.
On the trade front, the resurgence of New World screwworm in Mexico is likely to have had a larger impact on U.S. herd sizes than recent tariffs. Ranches and feedlots in the southwestern U.S. rely on Mexican cattle for their normal operations, with the country accounting for 60% of live U.S. cattle imports.
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Bullard says the episode has highlighted the dangers of relying on imported cattle.
“Every animal that was imported from Mexico meant we needed one fewer cow in our beef cow herd in America,” Bullard said, adding that he would like to see imports reduced across the supply chain to rebuild the domestic industry.
“Increasing access for Argentina or any other country will merely contribute to the very problem that has caused the ongoing decline of our industry,” Bullard said.
Argentinian beef is currently subject to a tariff-rate quota. Twenty thousand metric tons can enter the United States at a low tariff rate, according to the Agriculture Department, while imports above that quota are subject to a 26.4% tariff, plus a 10% “reciprocal” tariff applied to all of Argentina’s U.S. exports.
Argentinian officials left a White House visit earlier this month believing they could secure a trade pact with the U.S. in the near future, according to comments in the Argentinian press.
“We want to help Argentina,” Trump said during a joint press conference with Argentinian President Javier Milei earlier this month, adding that one of the ways the U.S. could do that is by deepening trade ties.
In addition to industry opposition, a stream of Republican lawmakers have expressed concern to the administration privately and publicly, including figures that have been in lockstep with Trump on U.S. trade policy.
Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer said she has met with administration officials in recent days to relay her concerns. A group of eight House Republicans that included Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., also wrote to the president to air their concerns.
“[O]ur producers are seeking clarity on how this decision will be made, what safety and inspection standards will apply, and how this policy aligns with your administration’s commitment to strengthening American agriculture,” the letter reads.
Others, including Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Agri-Pulse Tuesday that they were confident that the import volumes under consideration would not meaningfully affect domestic producers.
Bullard also has questions over how the move fits with the administration’s stated “America First” trade policy goals and professed interest in supporting U.S. ag.
“This administration understood itself that we need to begin managing imports and not continue to throw our borders open,” Bullard said. “This proposal, regardless of its size, contradicts that understanding,”
Rollins on Tuesday has also teased an incoming announcement on beef that she said would see the administration “open up new lands to make it easier to become a rancher.” Some on Capitol Hill and in the beef industry are expecting that announcement could come as soon as Wednesday.
Rollins met with senators and representatives from the beef industry in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday. During that meeting, Montana Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy pressed Rollins on opening up federal lands to more cattle producers for grazing, according to one meeting participant.
“She is very supportive,” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D, said following the meeting. “I think they'll work hard to make sure that our ranchers feel that they're being treated well.”
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