On Sunday, President Trump said his administration is considering purchasing beef from Argentina in order to lower retail prices for consumers. This follows reports that Trump has recently given Argentina a $20 billion economic bailout as a show of support to Argentina’s President Javier Milei.
“We would buy some beef from Argentina,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One during a flight from Florida to Washington. “If we do that, that will bring our beef prices down.”
“We’re extremely disappointed with the President’s comments and his approach,” says Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). “[The U.S.] has the highest quality beef that’s ever been produced in the history of this industry. We are finally get paid for that quality, and in essence, the President basically told us to go pound sand.”
He says he’s concerned that rewarding Argentina with this expanded access to the U.S. market harms American cattlemen and women, while also interfering with the free market.
“NCBA’s family farmers and ranchers have numerous concerns with importing more Argentinian beef to lower prices for consumers. This plan only creates chaos at a critical time of the year for American cattle producers, while doing nothing to lower grocery store prices,” says Woodall.
“Additionally, Argentina has a deeply unbalanced trade relationship with the U.S. In the past five years Argentina has sold more than $801 million of beef into the U.S. market. By comparison, the U.S. has sold just over $7 million worth of American beef to Argentina. Argentina also has a history of foot-and-mouth disease, which if brought to the United States, could decimate our domestic livestock production,” said Woodall.
“Although beef prices have increased due to tight supplies, consumer demand for beef remains strong because of the work American cattle producers have done to improve the quality and safety of U.S. beef. We call on President Trump and members of Congress to let the market work, rather than intervening in ways that do nothing but harm rural America,” adds Woodall.
Last Friday, the cattle markets saw heavy losses after the White House said it was looking into high beef prices. Trump stated that he wanted cheaper beef and has “magic” to make it happen. This triggered a wave of long liquidation, especially in feeders, which hit limit down on Friday and dropped $9.20 for both the November and January contracts. The December contract for Live Cattle on Friday fell by $6.05 to $241.82.
Meanwhile, Trump has been working to help Argentina’s President Milei ahead of that country’s mid-term elections by offering to provide them with a $20 billion currency swap in order to boost its collapsing peso. However, reports say Trump’s ultimate support will ride on Milei’s party succeeding in those elections.
CLICK BELOW to hear Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, as he talks with Hoosier Ag Today about President Trump’s recent comments.
