President Donald Trump said the US will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of beef to be imported with no out-of-quota tariff over the next 90 days, a Trump importing beef move aimed at easing prices. The announcement drew immediate criticism from cattle producers who said the policy puts their businesses under pressure while they are making herd decisions for next year.
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association said on Friday that the strategy would do more harm than good for the industry. The group represents more than 175,000 cattle producers and feeders, and said the announcement was not about helping producers.
National Cattlemen's Beef Association
The association said encouraging more beef imports undermines American cattle producers while they are deciding whether to rebuild herd numbers for next year. It also said the administration's repeated whiplash on trade policy and beef imports directly affects rural cattle producers, turning a short-term price move into a planning problem for the people who raise the cattle.
Colin Woodall said the association was disappointed. He said, “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.”
Stacy Simunek and Gentner Drummond
Stacy Simunek, president of Oklahoma Farm Bureau, said letting “foreign beef products to essentially walk in our country's front door and onto grocery store shelves threatens one of the few bright spots we have in agriculture: the prices we currently receive when we sell our beef cattle even as the cost of raising cattle increases.” Gentner Drummond said imported beef would hurt “farmers and ranchers who work every day to produce the best beef in the world.”
Tim Sheehy said on X that he advised Trump against the plan. The criticism reflects the clash at the center of the announcement: Trump is trying to lower grocery-store beef prices, while cattle producers say the same step can weaken the market they depend on when they decide whether to expand herds.
