Ranchers don’t understand tariffs amid Argentine beef row
Rancher Duke Phillips III prepares to rope a calf during final branding at Chico Basin Ranch on June 29, 2024 in Hanover, Colorado.
Helen H. Richardson | MediaNews Group | Denver Post | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he “doesn’t understand” how U.S. cattle breeders benefit from tariffs and added that they “should lower their prices.”
The warning came after some ranchers publicly criticized Trump’s proposal to import beef from Argentina to lower prices for American consumers.
Trump claimed that farmers “don’t understand that the only reason they’re doing so well for the first time in decades is because I put a tariff on cattle coming into the United States.”
He highlighted the 50% tariff he imposed in early August on imports from Brazil, one of the countries that sells the most beef to the United States.
“If it wasn’t for me, they’d be doing the same thing they’ve been doing for the last 20 years; Horrible!” Trump wrote: Real Social post.
“It would be nice if they understood this, but they also need to lower their prices because the consumer is also a huge factor in my opinion!” he added.
Beef prices The U.S. has seen an overall increase since last year, with some products, such as boneless sirloin, increasing by double-digit percentages. US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Trump told reporters on Sunday that his administration was considering doing a deal with Argentina “where we would buy some beef” from the South American country.
“If we do that, our beef prices will go down,” he said.
The comments sparked harsh reactions from U.S. cattlemen.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said in a statement: Press release He said Monday that farmers and ranchers are “concerned that rewarding Argentina with this expanded access to the U.S. market would harm American cattlemen and women while also interfering with the free market.”
“This plan only creates chaos at a critical time of year for American cattle producers while doing nothing to lower grocery store prices,” NCBA CEO Colin Woodall said in a statement.
NCBA did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Trump’s latest statements.
At least one Republican senator, Deb Fischer of Nebraska, also rejected Trump’s offer.
“Government intervention in the beef market will harm our cattle farmers,” he wrote in one article. x post Tuesday.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said Tuesday that “many” Republican senators have told Trump they do not want Argentinian beef imported into the United States.
This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.
— CNBC’s Mary Catherine Wellons contributed to this report.
