President Donald Trump announced Friday that his administration will temporarily eliminate tariffs on as much as 300,000 metric tons of imported ground beef, a major effort aimed at bringing down soaring supermarket prices while giving American ranchers additional time to rebuild the nation’s depleted cattle herds.
In a Truth Social post Friday morning, Trump said the tariff relief will remain in place for 90 days. He blamed President Biden for the dramatic decline in the US cattle population, which has fallen to its lowest level in 75 years.
Trump said he has secured a “commitment” for beef to be sold at prices 25% below current market levels, potentially providing significant relief to consumers who have watched beef prices climb sharply in recent years.
Under the existing tariff-quota system, which predates the Trump administration, countries are permitted to ship a limited quantity of beef into the United States while paying a tariff of 4.4 cents per kilogram.
Once imports exceed the established quota, however, they are hit with a much steeper tariff of 26.4%, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
A White House official said Trump plans to sign an executive order within the next two weeks temporarily suspending those higher, out-of-quota tariffs.
The Department of Agriculture said the move demonstrates Trump’s “commitment to lowering the cost of everyday goods” while “cutting regulations for our farmers and ranchers and rebuilding our nation’s cattle supply.”
Administration officials did not specify which countries would provide the additional imported beef or clarify whether those shipments would continue to be subject to the baseline tariff of 4.4 cents per kilogram.
The initiative comes as the Trump administration focuses heavily on stubbornly high food prices ahead of November’s midterm elections. Beef and veal have been among the grocery products experiencing some of the steepest price increases.
Ground beef averaged $6.89 per pound in July, according to Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis data. That represented an increase of 10% from a year earlier and a staggering 57% rise over the previous five years.
Other cuts have also become considerably more expensive. Federal data show roast beef prices climbing 13.5% over the past year, while steak prices increased 9.6%.
Trump’s push to increase foreign beef supplies has drawn strong criticism from some American ranchers and cattle organizations, which contend that domestic producers are already being squeezed by tariffs and rising operating expenses, including elevated fuel costs for diesel-powered farm equipment.
The president had previously moved to reduce barriers on imported beef. In February, Trump signed an executive order increasing beef imports from Argentina by 80,000 metric tons.
Trump has also directed the Justice Department to open an antitrust investigation into the country’s largest meatpacking companies while unveiling plans for $500 million in assistance to smaller meatpacking businesses.
The challenge is that restoring America’s cattle supply cannot happen quickly. Rebuilding a herd typically takes approximately two years, and questions remain over whether ranchers are willing to invest the money and time required to restore their operations to previous production levels.
At the beginning of 2026, the United States had approximately 86.2 million cattle and calves, according to Agriculture Department figures, marking the smallest American cattle herd since the 1950s.
The shortage has also battered major meatpacking companies, including Tyson and JBS. Tyson announced last week that it will close a major beef-processing facility in Illinois, its second plant closure this year.
A combination of weather, disease and economic pressures contributed to the dramatic contraction of the American cattle supply.
In 2024, drought conditions reached record levels nationwide, with particularly serious effects across the Southwest and Northern Plains.
The unusually dry weather reduced grazing grass, forcing ranchers to depend more heavily on costly feed to maintain their herds.
Supply problems were compounded by an outbreak of the flesh-eating New World Screwworm parasite among Mexican cattle, prompting the United States to suspend cattle imports from Mexico in November 2024.
While supplies have fallen, American demand for beef has remained robust. Government projections indicate that Americans are expected to consume approximately 29 billion pounds of beef this year.
Rising cattle values created another complication. With animals commanding increasingly high prices, ranchers had a financial incentive to send more cattle to slaughter rather than retain them for breeding, further reducing the number of animals available to replenish the nation’s herd.
The Agriculture Department announced last month that ports along the southern border would begin reopening to Mexican cattle.
Before imports were temporarily halted, Mexico had been supplying approximately 1 million cattle to the United States annually.
Trump’s new 90-day tariff suspension is designed to provide a short-term influx of beef while domestic producers work through a cattle shortage that could take years to fully reverse, with the president promising consumers that the result will be substantially lower prices at the grocery store.
{Matzav.com}
