President Trump wants cheaper beef at the grocery store, and he's opening the import floodgates to get it. But not everyone in his own party thinks that's a great idea, especially if you're a rancher watching prices fall just as your cattle are ready for market.
Rep. Troy Downing (R-Mont.) is the latest to sound the alarm. He warned that Trump's expansion of lower-tariff beef imports risks pulling "the rug out from underneath" U.S. ranchers, even as the White House tries to cool record grocery prices.
Ranchers Want Stability, Not Surprises
"Our ranchers that are producing the best beef in the world, they need to have market stability," Downing told NewsNation on Tuesday. When Washington changes the rules of the game as cattle are heading to buyers, he said, falling prices "hurt them."
The policy in question is Trump's Aug. 26 proclamation, which adds 300,000 metric tons of lean beef trimmings to the lower-tariff quota for 90 days, starting Sept. 1. The imports are split into three 100,000-ton tranches. The White House says the beef is meant for ground beef and has encouraged retailers to sell it at a 25% discount.
Trump has defended the move, saying, "We want to get the beef prices down," while insisting ranchers "need a little help." His administration has also rolled out support for smaller processors and herd rebuilding, including a $500 million meatpacking initiative and new USDA loan and grazing measures.
The timing is tricky. USDA counted 94.2 million cattle and calves on U.S. farms as of July 1, including 28.5 million beef cows, down 1% from a year earlier. Reuters reports that drought, wildfires, and Mexican cattle restrictions have helped drive supplies to a 75-year low, which in turn pushed beef prices to record highs.
Economists Are Skeptical About the Savings
Even if the imports do arrive, economists question how much consumers will actually save. Kansas State University agricultural economist Glynn Tonsor told the Associated Press in August that the added imports equal roughly 3% of annual U.S. beef consumption, calling the scale "pretty small." David Anderson, a professor of agricultural economics at Texas A&M University, went a step further, questioning whether exporters could even redirect that much volume within the 90-day window.
Republicans Join the Backlash
Downing isn't alone in his party. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) said last week that cheaper groceries cannot come "at the expense of American producers." Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy acknowledged that Trump's "heart is in the right place" but warned the imports could harm ranching families.
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association has also weighed in, saying the move sacrifices "long-term stability for short-term messaging," after previously blasting the import plan as election-year politics.
So, will your ground beef get cheaper? Maybe a little, maybe not. But one thing's for sure: the debate over how to balance grocery prices and rancher livelihoods is far from over.
