President Donald Trump defended his administration’s agricultural trade policies on Wednesday, saying U.S. cattle ranchers are benefiting from tariffs he imposed on imported cattle, while also calling on producers to bring beef prices down for consumers.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said cattle ranchers “don’t understand that the only reason they are doing so well … is because I put Tariffs on cattle coming into the United States, including a 50% Tariff on Brazil.”
“If it weren’t for me, they would be doing just as they’ve done for the past 20 years — terrible,” Trump wrote. “It would be nice if they would understand that, but they also have to get their prices down, because the consumer is a very big factor in my thinking, also!”
The post comes amid escalating tension between the White House and cattle industry groups following Trump’s suggestion over the weekend that the U.S. could buy beef from Argentina to help lower prices for American consumers.
During remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said, “We would buy some beef from Argentina. If we do that, that will bring our beef prices down.”
The proposal sparked swift backlash from U.S. cattle organizations, including the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), R-CALF USA, and the Nebraska Cattlemen.
The Nebraska Cattlemen said in a statement Monday that “introducing unnecessary price volatility into the cattle and beef marketing chain” could disrupt herd expansion efforts and harm producers already rebuilding after drought and market contraction.
According to USDA data cited by DTN, Argentina exported nearly 99 million pounds of beef to the U.S. in 2024 — less than 5% of its total exports — while U.S. beef imports overall reached a record 4.6 billion pounds.
While the administration insists more imports could help consumers, U.S. cattle groups warn the approach could undercut producers and derail the industry’s recovery.