08/21/2026
No cow-calf producer in America is asking for increased imports. Undercutting American farmers and ranchers with products from foreign competitors does nothing to create market confidence or encourage rebuilding the herd.
For the second time in less than 12 months, the Trump Administration is intervening in markets in an attempt to artificially lower beef prices. Current retail prices are high because of strong consumer demand for the high-quality beef we produce.
Incentivizing additional foreign imports undermines America’s producers at a critical time as they make decisions about rebuilding numbers for next year. U.S. farmers and ranchers need stability. Unlike spur-of –the-moment trading decisions made based on White House social media posts, the decisions and investments ranchers make in their herds are made YEARS in advance, not days or weeks.
The Trump Administration's repeated whiplash on trade policy and beef imports has real impacts on cattle producers in rural America. USDA created and promoted a stronger “Product of the USA” label, only to abandon it and decide that MCOOL was the only option. Today’s announcement is not about helping producers. It’s not about putting their finger on the scale for one cattle industry group or another. It is 100% about the 74 days between now and the midterm elections.
