The Trump administration has reportedly put on hold a proposal to suspend tariffs on imported beef, after U.S. cattle ranchers — a key political base — pushed back hard.
President Donald Trump had planned to sign two executive orders to cut tariffs on imported beef and relax regulations on American cattle producers. But a White House official confirmed that those actions are delayed while the administration finalizes the details, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
The plan also included directing the Small Business Administration to expand loan and capital access for U.S. ranchers, ease Endangered Species Act protections for gray and Mexican wolves, and roll back certain Agriculture Department regulations affecting U.S. cattle producers.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ranchers Push Back on Beef Imports
The idea of boosting beef imports while suspending tariffs didn't sit well with U.S. cattle ranchers. The Ranchers-Cattlemen Legal Action Fund (R-CALF USA) warned that cheaper foreign meat could hurt domestic producers. Ranchers also cautioned that higher imports might discourage herd expansion unless import limits are reviewed again within a few years.
R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard called the reported White House plan "no doubt an experiment" in which dominant meatpackers and retailers, not consumers, would likely benefit due to a lack of competition in the U.S. beef market. Instead, he urged the White House to mandate country-of-origin labeling for all beef sold in the U.S. and end requirements forcing domestic cattle producers to fund advertising for foreign beef through the federal beef checkoff program.
Beef Prices Keep Climbing
The delay comes at a time when global food prices have been rising for the third consecutive month, with meat prices hitting new highs. Beef has remained a major driver of U.S. food inflation over the past 18 months, with ground beef prices rising 40% over five years even as egg and milk prices eased.
In February, the White House issued a proclamation temporarily increasing tariff-free imports of lean beef trimmings from Argentina by 80,000 metric tons to help ease supply shortages and lower ground beef prices for U.S. consumers. The administration said the move was needed after drought conditions and shrinking cattle herds pushed domestic beef prices higher.
In April, the U.S. Justice Department launched a criminal antitrust investigation into large meatpacking companies such as JBS (Brazil), Cargill, Tyson Foods (TSN), and National Beef after Trump called for a probe into market manipulation.
