Ag Matters: Iowa Cattlemen react to Trump’s decision to import more beef

President Donald Trump announced Friday he was suspending tariffs on 300,000 metric tons of imported ground beef to help lower the cost of the meat, in a move cattle producers said would not help their efforts to restore herd sizes. 

The president announced in a Truth Social post that the imported beef will be sold at 25% below the current market prices. Cattle market reports from Friday showed “crashing futures” because of the announcement. The groups that represent cattlemen say the US is already importing beef at record levels — plus Trump’s announcement is pushing cattle prices down in the midst of a two-month dip in the cattle market.

Iowa Cattlemen’s Association CEO Bryan Whaley had to say,

Whaley says Trump should let the market work and avoid government intervention. “Even if it’s ground beef, it’s still beef that’s coming in from a foreign product,” Whaley said. “It will have a significant impact to our producers and the money they make.”

Iowa elected officials and candidates are raising concerns. U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, speaking with reporters at the Iowa State Fair, said Trump’s recent decision to increase beef imports was a “bad idea.”  “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.” Hinson also stated,

Josh Turek, the Democrat running against Hinson, says Trump’s announcement is “just one more gut punch to farmers” who are “already dealing with tariffs that wrecked commodity markets.”

Chris Jones, the Democrat running for State Agriculture Secretary, says importing more beef to lower prices at the grocery store is a band-aid rather than a long-term solution to rebuild cattle herds.

Mike Naig, the Republican who’s seeking re-election as Iowa Ag Secretary, says “we need need affordable food, but not at the expense of cattle producers” and Naig says he shared his concerns about foreign beef imports with U-S Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who visited the Iowa State Fair.

Rollins held a news conference Friday night outside the cattle barn on the fairgrounds and said the move is part of the administration’s push to lower grocery prices and wasn’t unexpected.

Rollins says Trump’s move will address both the tight supply of beef — made worse by closing the southern border to a million Mexican cattle due to fears about a flesh-eating parasite called the New World Screwworm.

Rollins indicated the administration’s Trade Representative is working on the details of an executive order President Trump will issue in the next few weeks with the details about the plan to import beef trimmings that are made into ground beef.