President pauses ground beef quota tariffs

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced on his social media account he is suspending import tariffs quotas on ground beef for three months.

“As we work to rebuild (the American beef) herd and help our ranchers, 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,” Trump wrote Aug. 21.

“We have a commitment that this beef will be sold at 25% below current market prices. This deal will reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our great American beef herd to grow again.”

As of July, ground beef cost an average of $6.89 per pound — up 57% from five years ago, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, citing federal labor data.

“Periods of more intense drought are associated with decreases in the U.S. beef cattle herd size, such as when the national beef cattle herd shrank about 1% to 2% a year during drought between 2011 and 2015,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Cattle numbers grew in the less intense drought years of 2015 to 2018. When drought conditions diminish forage production and availability, beef cattle producers often must buy supplemental feed and forage or reduce their herd size.

“Other factors outside of drought conditions also influence changes in the beef cattle herd size, including feed and forage prices, extreme precipitation events, supply chain issues and the natural life cycles of livestock.”

Opposition

Representatives of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, American Farm Bureau Federation and National Farmers Union expressed concerns over the move.

“NCBA is disappointed by the president’s statement. While America’s cattle producers share the goal of keeping groceries affordable for consumers, flooding the market with government-subsidized, below-market beef is not the way to rebuild the American cattle herd. Cattle markets have already turned sharply lower this morning, to the detriment of farmers and ranchers,” said Colin Woodall, NCBA CEO.

“This is a critical time of year for cattle producers, as we approach the season where they are making decisions regarding their herds. Cattle farmers and ranchers are responding to strong market signals and historically high demand, and we are already working to rebuild after years of ongoing drought, high input costs and other challenges that have reduced U.S. cattle numbers.

“This announcement and other market interventions throw cold water on the prospect of herd expansion and sacrifices long-term stability for short term messaging.”

AFBF President Zippy Duvall said farmers and ranchers “are extremely disappointed to learn that President Trump plans to flood the American market with hundreds of millions of pounds of foreign-raised beef.”

“The U.S. is already importing beef at record levels. This decision would be an unprecedented move and would translate to nearly an additional 60% increase in imports over the next 90 days,” he said.

“For almost a year now, we’ve been advising the administration that America’s ranchers are working to rebuild beef herds that had to be sold off due to drought. Despite high beef prices in grocery stores, prices paid to farmers and ranchers for their cattle have fallen sharply over the past two months, and beef packing plants are shutting down across the U.S. Further undercutting a fragile recovery by swamping markets with foreign products and attempting to manipulate prices threatens to wipe out any progress that has been made.

“We appreciate the president’s goal of reducing grocery costs, but short-term measures could have long-term negative effects for consumers and for ranchers who are making decisions on whether to retain or expand their herd. Growing dependance on foreign-grown food could ultimately lead to even higher grocery costs and reliance on other nations for our food security. We urge the president to strongly reconsider his plan.”

Consumers deserve to know where their beef comes from, and American farmers and ranchers deserve credit for raising it, said NFU President Rob Larew.

“Imported beef is just a handout for monopoly meatpackers, who can mix cheap imported beef with American beef and pocket the difference, with no guarantee consumers ever see lower prices or ranchers see fair ones,” Larew said.

“Mandatory country-of-origin labeling fixes that: it holds packers accountable and lets the market work honestly for everyone. The Senate Agriculture Committee has already taken steps to advance it. Congress should finish the job and pass this common-sense, bipartisan policy now.”