Trump Waives Tariffs on 300,000 Metric Tons of Foreign Ground Beef to Cut Grocery Prices — and Nearly Every Republican From Cattle Country Turns on Him, With One Calling It "Worse Than Socialism"

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For years I’ve heard they have problems with the big processors. They say the four are a “nasty group.” They cost our farmers a lot of money, and they cost our ranchers a lot of money, and they cost our people a lot of money. People have been asking for this change for decades, and we’re getting it done.

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The orders are “very earthshaking from the standpoint of positivity for our ranchers and for our farmers, who I love.” Ranchers and farmers “have always been a number one priority to me. They like me, and I like them.”

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For the first time ever, we’re going to give farmers and ranchers the right to process their own food. They’ll have inspectors. They’ll have everything, just like these big plants. I would be willing to say that our ranches will be more sanitary than those plants.

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For too long, the men and women who feed and fuel this nation were ignored and cast aside. That ends under President Trump. We are defending their livelihoods, expanding their opportunities, and giving them the tools to thrive for generations to come.

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I think it could hurt us at the polls. That's a very strong group.

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If you think that providing subsidized beef for some period of time is going to make farmers happy and prices go down on a systemic basis, you're wrong. Doesn't happen. We've got 71 days and right now we don't have a positive message to tell farm country.

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Beef prices are too high for a simple reason: Our cattle herd is too small.

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This hurts! American cattle producers have been disadvantaged for far too long.

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You don’t put America First by putting American ranchers second. I support President Trump, but supporting a president doesn’t mean staying quiet when a policy is wrong. On this issue, he is wrong.

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Importing foreign beef tariff-free — and selling it below market price — undercuts producers. Short-term market intervention will not lower prices over the long term.

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President Trump is right to make lowering grocery costs for American families a priority, and I share his commitment to bringing those costs down. At the same time, short-term relief can’t come at the expense of American ranchers, free markets and long-term solutions. I have consistently opposed policies that increase foreign beef imports at the expense of American cattle producers, and have raised these concerns with the White House several times. Florida ranchers will feel this squeeze, and they deserve a long-term plan that doesn’t leave them in limbo.

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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. We have a commitment that this beef will be sold at 25 percent below current market prices. This deal will reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again.

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We want to get the beef prices down, so we’ll get them down a little bit, and that’s what people want. That’s what the voters want, and that’s what I want. The ranchers are great — they’re my people.

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I love the ranchers; they’ve done a fantastic job. But they admit that we need a little help, and, in order to get the prices down, so that’s what we’re doing.

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While I commend President Trump for working to lower the price of goods at the grocery store, importing foreign beef is only going to hurt our ranchers and increase prices over the long-term. We need to do all we can to support them by letting the market recover.

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I appreciate the Administration’s work to lower grocery prices. Short term policy shifts do not equal long term solutions. Flooding the market with lower quality beef compromises Nebraska farmers and ranchers. They should be enabled to grow herd sizes and meet consumer demand.

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I’m extremely disappointed by this decision from the White House. We all want lower grocery prices, but as I’ve said for months, we cannot do it at the expense of American producers. Flooding the market with foreign beef hurts our livestock industry and undermines the long-term solution: growing the U.S. cattle herd to meet demand.

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After Tyson closure in Illinois last wk I’m concerned for the cattle markets +now Pres Trump’s decision to temporarily open up subsidized beef imports

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I’ve advised President Trump against this course of action for a year because American ranchers have been struggling against the packer monopoly for decades, and this will further harm them — most of whom are MAGA Republicans. The President’s heart is in the right place on wanting lower prices for the American people, and beef prices have been impacted by the Mexican screwworm. However, this action will make it more difficult for American ranchers to rebuild our herd and bring prices down for the American people. And most importantly, this will harm our ranching families who feed the nation.

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I think it’s a bad idea the way we’re trying to handle this. It should be driven by market conditions. The herd is at a 70-year low, and we need to be doing everything we can to support our Iowa cattlemen in what they do. We grow the highest quality beef here in Iowa, and so absolutely I’ll be advocating to the administration because I think we need to be focusing on growing the herd the right way and protecting our cattlemen.

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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. It’s a slap in the face to ranchers, producers, and farmers in NW Ohio and across America.

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I’m not a fan of global tariffs. It’s also wacky to maintain global tariffs on nearly everything while removing the one tariff that helps our ranchers.

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As ranchers continue to face historically low herd sizes, this move undercuts American farmers and ranchers by flooding the market with lower quality foreign beef.

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I understand the President taking action to lower prices at the grocery store, but it cannot happen on the backs of our ranchers. Montana producers cannot be asked to absorb the cost. We must protect our ranchers and strengthen the American cattle herd so American beef remains at the center of our food supply.

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Despite record-low herd sizes, Nebraska’s ranchers continue to produce high-quality beef for consumers around the world.

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Worse than socialism! Dumping foreign beef in US markets can temporarily lower prices but it won’t incentivize American farmers to raise more beef. What a slap in the face to American cattlemen & consumers.

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The Trump admin’s attempt to lower the cost of beef is American beef LAST and foreign beef FIRST. Now they will be undercut by foreign imported beef, as they have been hit financially by high cost of fertilizer and diesel from Trump’s war with Iran.