Trump Aims to Lower Meat Prices in the US, Opening a Front Against Farmers
US President Donald Trump plans to temporarily increase beef import quotas to lower ground beef prices. The initiative has sparked backlash from American cattle ranchers and members of his own party.
US President Donald Trump wants to lower meat prices in supermarkets, but his move has already opened a front against cattle ranchers – and also against members of his own party. According to a report in The Atlantic magazine, the US administration has decided to temporarily increase the import quota for lean beef by 300,000 tons for a period of 90 days starting September 1.
Trump claims that the imported meat will be sold at about 25% below market prices, with the goal of lowering the price primarily of ground beef, a key component of the American food basket. The choice of lean beef is not accidental. Ground beef is produced from a mixture of lean meat and fat, and the shortage of lean meat has become a central pressure point in the American market in recent years. Increasing imports may therefore increase the supply of raw material and help lower the price of ground beef, even if it does not solve the overall shortage of beef.
The need for a price reduction is clear. According to data from the US Department of Agriculture cited by AP, prices for ground beef in the US have risen by about 57% in five years, while steak prices have risen by about 35%. The price of ribeye, one of the most sought-after cuts, is already approaching $22 per pound – about $49 per kg. However, even if the imported meat is 25% cheaper, it is not certain that the American consumer will see a similar decrease at the checkout. The price of meat on the shelf also includes processing, transportation, packaging, distribution, and retail margins, so a reduction in the price of raw material may only partially trickle down to the consumer.
Supply Challenges and Farmer Interests
Behind the price surge is a supply problem. The US cattle herd has shrunk to 86.2 million head – the lowest level in 75 years. Years of drought, high rearing costs, and restrictions on beef imports from Mexico have contributed to the reduction of the herd. The problem is that the herd cannot be increased quickly. It takes time for cows to reproduce and raise calves until they reach the market, so even if farmers start expanding their herds now, the impact on meat supply may only arrive in years.
This is exactly where the interests of Trump and the farmers collide. The administration wants to increase meat supply right now through imports, while farmers fear that cheap meat from abroad will lower the price they receive for their cattle and weaken the incentive to invest in increasing the herd. The American Farm Bureau Federation has even called on Trump to withdraw from the plan. Republicans in Congress also oppose the move, and some argue that the way to lower prices is to increase local production, not rely on imports.
At the same time, Trump has opened another front against the meat processing industry. He accuses the large companies – Tyson, Cargill, JBS, and National Beef, which hold the lion's share of beef processing capacity in the US – of concentration. Trump proposes to make it easier for small farmers to process and sell the meat themselves, arguing that increasing the number of independent processors will allow farmers to gain more control over the supply chain and increase competition in the industry.
Thus, imports may serve as a "bridge" during a period when the American herd is still limited: to increase meat supply in the short term, while farmers try to rebuild the herd. However, that same move could also hurt the prices farmers receive and make increasing the herd less profitable. In other words, Trump is trying to solve in months a problem that was created over years – and in the meantime risks that the cheap meat he promises consumers will come at the expense of American farmers.
