In today’s Beef Buzz, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays continues his conversation from last week with Kent Bacus, who pointed out the scale of Brazilian imports to the United States, saying, “Within the first two weeks, Brazil had already filled the volume-based quota for the entire year. They can easily absorb a lot of the lower-level tariffs. But increasing this and having this 76% tariff for the rest of the year is probably going to curtail some of that.”
He emphasized the need to look beyond Brazil alone. “We also have to look outside Brazil. Brazil is not the only market that we import lean trimmings from. We need to make sure that we’re prioritizing trade with our allies and with people that are not going to jeopardize the health and safety of our consumers and our cattle.”
Protecting beef’s reputation remains a top concern. “The fact that you have any beef that could come in here that could potentially tarnish the image, the trusted nature that beef has in this market, that’s a concern for all of us, and that’s why we think it’s so important to engage with our government. We’re very happy that President Trump is taking these corrective actions to get their attention.”
Bacus also underlined the global stakes. “The Brazilians rely on that USDA stamp of approval, on that US acceptance of their standards, and they take that and market it all around the world. Because if they’re good enough for the US market, they’re good enough for any market. This is why we have to drive home that message—that we have concerns about what they’re sending here.”
Bacus laid out what needs to happen next. “First and foremost, big thumbs up on the tariff increase. We think that got their attention. But now we need to see behavioral changes, and the only way we’re going to see that is to fully suspend their beef imports for the foreseeable future. We really need to get our inspectors, our auditors, on the ground in Brazil, not just paper audits. When it comes to food safety and animal health, there can be no exceptions.”
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
