President Donald Trump today announced on social media that he has “concluded a deal to substantially lower the price of ground beef” for Americans.
Trump wrote: “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.” He added, “We have a commitment that this beef will be sold at 25 percent below current market prices.”
Trump said the deal will “reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again.”
[NOTE: The President did not identify where the imported beef would come from or who had committed to selling it at the discounted price.]
U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) responded: “First, the President paid Argentina $20 Billion to send beef here. Now he’s importing another 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef to undercut American cattlemen. That’s a slap in the face to ranchers, producers, and farmers in NW Ohio and across America. Consumers need long-term solutions not short-term gimmicks.”
First, the President paid Argentina $20 Billion to send beef here. Now he’s importing another 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef to undercut American cattlemen.
That’s a slap in the face to ranchers, producers, and farmers in NW Ohio and across America. Consumers need long-term… https://t.co/HuZVaZ1pbX
— Rep. Marcy Kaptur (@RepMarcyKaptur) August 21, 2026
[NOTE: In October 2025, when beef prices had jumped nearly 14 percent over the past year, farmers, ranchers and cattle producers opposed President Trump’s plan to import more beef from Argentina, claiming the deal would benefit Argentine farmers more than American farmers.]
Buck Wehrbein, president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, warned in October: “Argentina, it’s not just the amount of beef coming in, but they have a long history of foot-and-mouth disease. USDA has not done a good enough job yet of making sure that everything coming from there is safe. And so we’re not only concerned about the amount of beef that comes in, but also the animal health issues. And so this is a bigger thing than just cattle prices.”
Eric Michael Garcia, senior Washington correspondent for The Independent, also responded to the President’s new beef deal: “All of this comes as Trump warns about the dangers of socialism and communism.”
U.S. Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) also called Trump’s deal “a slap in the face to American cattlemen & consumers.” Massie added: “Worse than socialism! Dumping foreign beef in U.S. markets can temporarily lower prices but it won’t incentivize American farmers to raise more beef.” Republican Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana, where ranching is a key industry, also criticized the plan.
[NOTE: The U.S. cattle herd is at its lowest level since the 1950s, a decline The Wall Street Journal cites as a reason beef prices have remained high. But ranchers, including the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, argue that cheap foreign beef imports could discourage American ranchers from rebuilding their herds instead of “giving space” for them to grow, as Trump suggested.]