WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is quadrupling the tariff rate quota on Argentine beef to 80,000 metric tons in a bid to reduce prices, a White House official said on Thursday.
The move lets Argentina ship more beef to the U.S. at a lower rate of duty at a time when U.S. beef prices have set records due to tight cattle supplies and strong consumer demand.
Trump said earlier this week he “loved” America’s cattle ranchers. But those ranchers and farmers, who overwhelmingly supported the president in the 2024 election, say they aren’t feeling the love right now.
The plan to import more beef from Argentina has angered U.S. ranchers, who largely supported Trump in his campaigns for president. They said the government should support domestic producers and that increased imports threaten their livelihoods.
Justin Tupper, a South Dakota cattle producer and president of the United States Cattlemen’s Association, told Reuters, “A deal of this magnitude with Argentina would undercut the very foundation of our cattle industry,”
In a statement, Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, said the organization and its members “cannot stand behind the President while he undercuts the future of family farmers and ranchers by importing Argentinian beef in an attempt to influence prices.”
Argentina currently accounts for just over 2% of US beef imports. Under existing rules, it can ship up to 20,000 metric tons a year at a lower tariff rate, with anything above that subject to a 26.4% tariff, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Trump has now raised that quota to 80,000 metric tons, effectively quadrupling the amount of Argentinian beef with low tariffs that can enter the United States.
In comments made earlier this week, Trump said, “The Cattle Ranchers, who I love, don’t understand that the only reason they are doing so well, for the first time in decades, is because I put Tariffs on cattle coming into the United States, including a 50% Tariff on Brazil,” Trump wrote on social media.“It would be nice if they would understand that, but they also have to get their prices down, because the consumer is a very big factor in my thinking, also!” he added
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” said the administration was working to support both beef consumers and ranchers.
“There is frustration on both sides. And I was with the president yesterday and he is very, very frustrated because (of) everything he’s done to cut taxes, to bring down costs,” Rollins said.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Trump had pledged to protect ranchers and deliver economic relief for everyday Americans.
The administration was accomplishing both by expanding beef imports from Argentina to lower consumer prices in the short term and rolling out new supports for ranchers, she said.