President Donald Trump’s plan to sharply increase foreign beef imports in an effort to lower grocery prices is drawing growing opposition from U.S. cattle producers, the American Farm Bureau Federation, and Republican lawmakers from major cattle-producing states.
Trump announced Friday that his administration intends to temporarily allow up to 300,000 metric tons of imported beef — more than 660 million pounds — into the United States over a 90-day period without triggering additional tariffs. Trump said the imported beef would be sold at prices 25% below current market levels, with the goal of easing record-high ground beef prices.
The White House is expected to implement the plan through an executive order. The administration argues additional imports can provide near-term relief for consumers while it pursues longer-term efforts to increase domestic beef production.
The proposal comes as the U.S. cattle herd has fallen to its lowest level in more than 50 years following years of drought, elevated production costs, and herd liquidation. Beef prices have risen as tight cattle supplies collide with continued strong consumer demand. Imports from Mexico have also been constrained by concerns over New World screwworm, while Trump’s 50% tariff on Brazilian goods has complicated another major source of imported beef.
Farm Bureau Warns of Longer-Term Impact
The American Farm Bureau Federation is urging Trump to reconsider, arguing that an influx of below-market imported beef could discourage ranchers from rebuilding the domestic herd and ultimately prolong the supply shortage responsible for high prices.
AFBF President Zippy Duvall sent a letter to Trump this week arguing that reducing cattle prices does not necessarily translate into lower retail beef prices and could weaken the economic incentive for producers to retain cattle and expand their herds.
“Bringing down the price of cattle will not bring the price of beef down for American families,” Duvall wrote, warning that lower cattle prices could discourage long-term investment in herd rebuilding.
Timing is a particular concern. AFBF estimates that about 70% of spring-born calves are sold between September and November, putting the proposed 90-day import surge squarely within a period when ranchers make important decisions about whether to sell animals or retain them for breeding.
Those decisions are already being made amid a difficult cost environment. USDA Economic Research Service data cited by Farm Bureau show cow-calf production costs reached a record $1,762 per head in 2025, up more than $400, or nearly 30%, since 2020.
Republicans Join the Opposition
Opposition is also building among congressional Republicans representing cattle-producing states, creating an unusual split between Trump and lawmakers who generally support his trade and economic agenda.
Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., a cattle rancher, warned that flooding the market with foreign beef could damage the livestock industry while undermining the longer-term solution of rebuilding the U.S. herd. Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy said he had advised Trump against such a policy for a year, while Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton called the move “ill-advised” and urged the president to reconsider.
Other Republican critics include Sens. John Barrasso of Wyoming, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska. Barrasso, the No. 2 Senate Republican, said U.S. policy should make it easier rather than harder for domestic ranchers to supply American consumers.
The political resistance underscores the challenge facing the administration as it tries to address food affordability ahead of the November midterm elections. Retail beef prices are highly visible to consumers, but the domestic supply shortage has developed over several years and rebuilding the U.S. cattle herd is inherently a yearslong process.
Industry critics also question whether the proposed imports are large enough to produce a substantial or lasting decline in grocery-store beef prices. The additional 300,000 metric tons would represent only a small share of annual U.S. beef consumption, while introducing discounted imports could reduce the prices received by domestic cattle producers precisely when the industry is beginning to rebuild supply.
For retailers and consumers, that creates the central tension surrounding the proposal: additional imported beef could provide some near-term price relief, but producers and their allies argue that weakening incentives to expand the domestic herd could make the underlying supply problem more difficult to solve.