Aug. 22, 2026:
Aug. 21, 2026, Truth Social post by President Trump:
“I concluded a deal to substantially lower the price of ground beef for working American families. As everyone knows, under President Biden, beef prices soared at their fastest rate and the beef herd fell to its smallest size in modern history. As we work to rebuild this herd and help our ranchers, for the next 90 days, the United States will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef to be imported with no out of quota tariff. We have a commitment that this beef will be sold at 25 percent below current market prices. This deal will reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again.”
National Farmers Union (NFU) President Rob Larew Friday (Aug. 21, 2026) 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.”
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.”
Read R-CALF USA’s full response explaining how the reported import plan could affect U.S. cattle producers, herd expansion, consumer beef prices and long-term food security here: https://www.r-calfusa.com/wp-
President Trump’s August 21, 2026, strategy to import beef tariff-free has South Dakota Farmers Union President, Doug Sombke concerned for consumers and cattle producers.
“This is not only bad for South Dakota’s cattle producers, but honestly, I am concerned for consumers because with imported beef, we do not know that it has been raised to the same safety standards as American farmers and ranchers follow. When the President said it will be sold at a substantially lower price, this makes me extremely concerned about the quality of the meat. And without Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL), we do not even know where the beef is imported from,” Sombke said. “Here we are in the middle of a public health crisis over imported lettuce and now the President is OK importing beef in abundance.”
A grassroots policy organization, South Dakota Farmers Union has been advocating for MCOOL since it was repealed in 2015.
“Labeling lets consumers know where the beef they purchase to feed their families comes from. If the President is going to let foreign beef flood the market, at least make sure consumers know where it comes from so they can have the choice to purchase U.S. beef,” Sombke said.
Aug. 21, 2026, update:
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Chief Executive Officer Colin Woodall issued the following statement Friday (Aug. 21, 2026) in response to President Trump’s Truth Social 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.”
Aug. 21, 2026:
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced Friday (Aug. 21, 2026) that his administration will allow more beef to be temporarily imported into the U.S. without triggering higher tariffs, which drew swift pushback from cattle producers and conservative rural-state Republicans.
Beef prices have climbed to record highs amid a drop in the number of U.S. cattle, consistent consumer demand and limits on cattle from Mexico, where the animals are facing a flesh-eating pest. The U.S. president has also imposed 50% tariffs on Brazil, a major beef exporter.
Trump remains under pressure to cut costs and address affordability issues ahead of November’s midterms. But ranchers, normally some of the president’s biggest supporters, are enjoying some rare profitable years and worry cheap beef imports will reduce cattle prices — and with it, the incentive to increase herd sizes.
“We all want lower grocery prices, but as I’ve said for months, we cannot do it at the expense of American producers,” Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., said in a statement. “Flooding the market with foreign beef hurts our livestock industry and undermines the long-term solution: growing the U.S. cattle herd to meet demand.”
When asked by reporters Friday evening about criticism of the deal, Trump said, “I love the ranchers; they’ve done a fantastic job. But they admit that we need a little help, and, in order to get the prices down, so that’s what we’re doing.”
Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., said in a social media post just hours after Trump announced the deal that the president’s “heart is in the right place,” but importing beef will “harm our ranching families who feed the nation.”
And Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., said that while he appreciates the administration’s focus on grocery prices, “short term policy shifts do not equal long term solutions.”
The deal, Trump said, allows up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported into the U.S. for the next 90 days without activating an “out of quota” tariff, which is a tax that goes into effect once a certain quantity of that product enters the country.
The president said on social media that he had committed to ensuring the imported beef would be sold at 25% below current market rates, making it cheaper for American consumers. Trump didn’t specify which countries would import the beef while speaking to reporters Friday, but said “there are a few” and that they’ll send the “highest quality beef.” A White House official said the deal is with foreign beef exporters who have agreed to the discount on beef.
“You don’t put America first by putting U.S. cattle producers last,” U.S. Cattlemen’s Association President Justin Tupper said in a statement. “This move will weaken our markets and gamble with food safety in the process.”
The president’s announcement and other market interventions sacrifice “long-term stability for short term messaging,” Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, said in a statement.
Glynn Tonsor, a professor at Kansas State University who focuses on the cattle and beef industry, said he would like to see more details about the latest deal but that his immediate assessment was that it wouldn’t have a big effect on prices.
That’s because 300,000 metric tons amounts to roughly 3% of what Americans eat yearly, he said. “The relative magnitude we are talking about is pretty small.”
David Anderson, professor of agricultural economics at Texas A&M University, said he was skeptical other countries could redirect so much beef to the U.S. in such a short time period.
“Is that even achievable?” he questioned in a phone interview.
The White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a plan that has yet to be finalized, said the beef in question is lean beef trimmings that are used for ground beef production. Trump plans to sign an executive order formalizing the directive within two weeks, the official said. The administration made a push last year to buy more beef from Argentina to try to bring down prices.
The president said Friday that his plan would help grow the U.S. cattle supply, which is the smallest it’s been in decades. Some ranchers and experts said the opposite effect was more likely.
“Imports have been a major contributor to the decline in the U.S. cattle inventory,” said Bill Bullard, the CEO of the R-CALF USA, which represents independent cattle producers. “Using more imports today will exacerbate that decline and will prevent herd expansion.”
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