Trump claims foreign-owned meatpackers driving up US beef prices | Donald Trump

Donald Trump on Friday accused foreign-owned meatpackers of driving up beef prices in the United States and asked the Justice Department to launch an investigation.

The Republican president announced the move on social media after his party suffered losses in key elections in which the winning Democratic candidates focused relentlessly on the public’s concerns about the cost of living.

“I have asked the DOJ to immediately launch an investigation into Meat Packing Companies that are increasing the price of Beef through Illegal Collusion, Price Fixing, and Price Manipulation,” Trump wrote in a social media post.

“We will always protect our American Farmers, and they are to blame for what is being done by the Majority Foreign Owned Meat Packers who are artificially inflating prices and jeopardizing the security of our Nation’s food supply,” he continued.

Trump has provided no evidence to support his claims.

“Immediate action must be taken to protect consumers, combat Illegal Monopolies, and ensure these Companies do not criminally profit at the expense of the American People,” he said.

Last month, Trump angered U.S. cattle farmers by suggesting the United States would buy Argentinian beef to reduce stubbornly high prices for American consumers.

Beef prices rose in part after drought, and years of low prices led to U.S. herd sizes being the smallest in decades. Trump’s tariffs on Brazil, a major beef exporter, also restricted imports.

Trump’s accusations have reignited the bipartisan presidential fight against rising food prices.

Then-President Joe Biden spoke to independent farmers and ranchers about initiatives to lower food prices by increasing competition in the meat industry. And then-vice president Kamala Harris, whom Trump defeated last year, used her campaign to promise to crack down on “price gouging” by food manufacturers and major supermarkets.