Trump’s Beef With Foreign Countries and Food Producers
U.S. President Donald Trump announced in August that his administration will temporarily allow more foreign beef into the U.S. tariff-free, with the aim of lowering grocery prices ahead of November’s midterms. He hasn’t said which countries will receive relief from the tariffs — only that “there are a few” that send “the highest quality beef.” A White House official said unnamed foreign exporters have agreed to a 25-percent discount, with an executive order formalizing a roughly 300,000-metric-ton import quota.
America’s cattle industry, usually a reliable Trump constituency, is furious. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association CEO Colin Woodall said flooding the market with subsidized foreign beef isn’t the way to rebuild the U.S. herd after years of drought and rising costs. U.S. Cattlemen’s Association president Justin Tupper went further, warning that the move “will weaken our markets and gamble with food safety.” Even Republican senators from cattle country, including Nebraska’s Deb Fischer, have publicly broken with the president over it.
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