WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – President Donald Trump is announcing new measures to lower the cost of beef after facing backlash from U.S. cattle ranchers and Republican lawmakers from agriculture states.
The backlash stemmed from a White House announcement that the U.S. market would be flooded with 300,000 metric tons of imported foreign ground beef. The idea was to lower the cost for consumers, but ranchers said they would be the ones paying the price.
Trump now says he plans to break up the monopoly of the big four meat packers, most of which are foreign-owned. He posted on Truth Social Friday he is drafting legal documents to allow ranchers to begin processing their own food.
Experts are questioning the safety of the rush job and what it will mean for the future and regulation of domestic meat packing.
The foreign beef imports begin on Sept. 1.
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