American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on President Trump’s plan to import an additional 300,000 metric tons of beef in addition to already record-high beef imports.
“Farmers and ranchers are extremely disappointed to learn that President Trump plans to flood the American market with hundreds of millions of pounds of foreign-raised beef. The U.S. is already importing beef at record levels. This decision would be an unprecedented move and would translate to nearly an additional 60% increase in imports over the next 90 days.
“For almost a year now, we’ve been advising the administration that America’s ranchers are working to rebuild beef herds that had to be sold off due to drought. Despite high beef prices in grocery stores, prices paid to farmers and ranchers for their cattle have fallen sharply over the past two months, and beef packing plants are shutting down across the U.S. Further undercutting a fragile recovery by swamping markets with foreign products and attempting to manipulate prices threatens to wipe out any progress that has been made.
“We appreciate the president’s goal of reducing grocery costs, but short-term measures could have long-term negative effects for consumers and for ranchers who are making decisions on whether to retain or expand their herd. Growing dependance on foreign-grown food could ultimately lead to even higher grocery costs and reliance on other nations for our food security. We urge the president to strongly reconsider his plan.”
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Chief Executive Officer Colin Woodall issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s post regarding beef imports:
“NCBA is disappointed by the President’s statement. 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. Cattle markets have already turned sharply lower this morning, to the detriment of farmers and ranchers. This is a critical time of year for cattle producers, as we approach the season where they are making decisions regarding their herds. Cattle farmers and ranchers are responding to strong market signals and historically high demand, and we are already working to rebuild after years of ongoing drought, high input costs and other challenges that have reduced U.S. cattle numbers. 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.”
United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) is responding to President Trump’s latest social media post concerning upcoming trade actions to address US beef prices. According to the post, the Administration has decided to allow up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef into the United States tariff‑free over the next 90 days—a move USCA warns would sideline U.S. producers, threaten cattle prices, and risk undermining consumer confidence in the beef supply.
For decades, USCA has advocated for the federal government not to intervene in cattle markets, yet policy decisions have steadily moved in the opposite direction. From recent tariff exemptions for Brazil after violating deforestation standards, tariff exemptions for Argentina after violating forced labor standards, to the expected reopening of the border to Mexican cattle on Monday in the face of additional New World Screwworm cases, each action on its own sends a troubling market signal.
U.S. ranchers are already facing historically high input costs, the same inflationary pressures affecting all of agriculture, as well as prolonged drought and extreme wildfires that have reduced access to grazing land in many states. These are the market signals that make rebuilding the U.S. cattle herd far more difficult than it appears on paper. Layering a sudden, government‑driven surge of imports on top of these conditions – especially in the fall, when many ranchers market their cattle – further erodes the economic confidence needed to invest in herd expansion. Taken together, they amount to a constant chipping away at our industry’s foundation and moving us closer to a breaking point.
“You don’t put America first by putting U.S. cattle producers last. This move will weaken our markets and gamble with food safety in the process,” said President Justin Tupper.
USCA underscores that there is no clear evidence that increasing beef imports in this manner will lower retail prices for consumers, while there is proof from prior trade actions that dumping additional foreign beef into the U.S. market can depress cattle prices paid to American producers. The recent recall of beef imported from Argentina, following a previous TRQ decision, was a warning sign that the supply chain and inspection system are already strained, and that rapidly increasing import volumes while suspending tariffs and guaranteeing discounted pricing heightens food safety risk. The X post did not detail where this product is expected to come from, nor which countries’ TRQs will receive relief, or which products specifically will be exempt.
The volume and timing here are also key. 300,000 metric tons represents roughly half of total U.S. beef export volume so far in 2026 – a significant volume shift to absorb in a short window. Major supply‑chain moves of this size, made on a compressed timeline, do not lend themselves to careful oversight. The 90-day window referenced would extend the effort to lower consumer prices through November’s uncertain midterm election.
“U.S. ranchers have endured years of low cattle prices and trade uncertainty, and now they are being used as pawns in a 90‑day political timeline. We rely on consumers’ trust in our product and flooding the supply chain with foreign beef on a price‑fixed basis risks eroding that trust and driving people away from beef,” President Tupper said. “The recent recall of beef from Argentina showed clearly that our current system is already strained. Imposing a blanket halt on tariffs and guaranteeing cheaper pricing on imports only adds risk for consumers and undermines confidence in our food system. We want Americans to be able to buy beef, but prices cannot be pushed down at the expense of food safety. That’s a sure way to make certain nobody wins.” View this press release on the USCA website HERE.
In response, R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard released the following statement:
“Increasing imports doubles down on a failed strategy that has substituted foreign beef for rebuilding domestic production. Beef imports have already risen to record levels while retail beef prices continued climbing and the U.S. cattle herd continued shrinking. More imports will continue providing multinational beef packers and retailers with cheaper supplies, but they have not resulted in lower beef costs for consumers.
“Most importantly, this policy undermines the producer confidence necessary to rebuild the U.S. cattle herd. Herd expansion takes years. Producers deciding whether to retain heifers today must have confidence that future cattle prices will justify that investment. Responding to cattle prices that finally encourage expansion with more lower-cost imported beef sends exactly the wrong signal.
“We urge the administration to reconsider this approach and instead restore competition in cattle markets, implement import controls that provide producers the confidence and market opportunity to rebuild the domestic herd, and restore mandatory country of origin labeling so consumers can distinguish American beef from imported beef.
“We share the goal of rebuilding America’s cattle herd. But we cannot rebuild America’s domestic beef supply chain by increasing our dependency on foreign beef.”
American Farmers & Ranchers Cooperative President Scott Blubaugh:
Pres. Trump’s shortsighted plan to allow more foreign ground beef to be imported into the U.S. will not lower prices for consumers. The president’s plan makes herd rebuilding—the thing that could actually help—even more difficult. Who will rebuild the herd if producers are continuously discouraged from investing in heifer retention?
The president’s plan has introduced additional volatility and foreign competition into an industry that’s already struggling. Once again, cattle producers are being discouraged from rebuilding, a move that will ultimately make us ever more dependent on foreign beef. We cannot and should not be reliant on foreign nations for our food supply. Will somebody please tell the president this is not “America First?”
Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association statement:
President Trump’s announcement today that the United States will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of imported product for ground beef to enter without the out-of-quota tariff for the next 90 days is extremely bad policy at exactly the wrong time for Oklahoma cattle producers.
Oklahoma cattle-raising families are already facing rising costs and worsening drought conditions, while the U.S. cattle herd remains at historically low levels. Late summer and early fall is a critical time when producers are making major decisions about heifer retention, forage and feed resources, and calf marketing. Those decisions will determine whether America can begin rebuilding its cattle herd.
At the very moment producers need confidence to invest in rebuilding the American cattle herd, this policy injects uncertainty into cattle markets and undermines the very producers being asked to rebuild it.
On behalf of Oklahoma cattle producers, the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association strongly urges President Trump to rescind this policy immediately and instead support policies that encourage American cattle producers to rebuild the nation’s beef supply.
National Farmers Union (NFU) President Rob Larew today released the following statement after the Trump administration announced its plan to 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.
“Consumers deserve to know where their beef comes from, and American farmers and ranchers deserve credit for raising it. Imported beef is just a handout for monopoly meatpackers, who can mix cheap imported beef with American beef and pocket the difference, with no guarantee consumers ever see lower prices or ranchers see fair ones. Mandatory country-of-origin labeling fixes that: it holds packers accountable and lets the market work honestly for everyone. The Senate Agriculture Committee has already taken steps to advance it. Congress should finish the job and pass this commonsense, bipartisan policy now.”
From NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud: NMPF is concerned by the Trump Administration’s decision to increase imports of foreign-raised beef, which will have unintended consequences for U.S. cattle and dairy producers alike. Cull cow and calf sales are a key economic driver for U.S. dairy farmers and equates to 20% of annual dairy farm income, and greater than 20% of the U.S. beef production is now being supplied by dairy farms. Current beef prices are an important reason why we have the most dairy cows in the United States since 1992; meanwhile, U.S. milk production is up 2.7% versus last year. Both trends help keep beef and dairy products affordable for consumers; dairy is stepping up to solve the consumer challenge of higher beef prices.
Policy-created disruption threatens the billions of dollars invested by U.S. dairy farmers and manufacturers to grow supply of beef and dairy products. For the second time this year, the federal government has significantly intervened into the U.S. beef market, this time to remove duties on imports of 300,000 mt of beef over the next 90 days. This will have a short-term, muted economic impact for consumers, but the effects on both dairy and beef producers could be felt for some time. This decision risks a reduction in the price dairy farmers receive for their cull cows and higher profits for foreign beef exporters, all for a potentially nominal decrease in the retail ground beef price.
Again, removing the tariff isn’t likely to lower consumer prices, as the price of this imported product is already well below that of the comparable domestically produced product derived from U.S. cull dairy and beef cows, but it will certainly improve the profit margin for the exporter. The more consequential impact will be a delay in the necessary economic signal sent to U.S. beef producers to increase production, which may reduce domestic supplies in the longer term.
U.S. dairy farmers’ appreciation for the strength that beef prices have provided to their operations cannot be overstated, as milk prices continue to be low by historical standards. That appreciation extends to U.S. consumers who are increasingly demanding not only our exceptional dairy products but also the beef we produce. That’s the choice U.S. consumers are making, as it should be.
