President Trump is breaking from his “America First” trade agenda and feuding with some of his most loyal supporters in a fight over U.S. beef prices.
Trump has centered his economic agenda around reducing the U.S.’s reliance on cheaper foreign products and boosting domestic production of goods and food.
But the president’s plan to boost imports of Argentinian beef while urging American suppliers to lower their prices marks a sharp departure from his platform.
The dispute is threatening Trump’s long-standing support from agriculture groups and workers, who stood by the president during his first term despite the backlash they faced from his trade agenda.
“I have no idea who is telling our great president — our ‘America First’ president — that this is a good idea,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a staunch Trump ally, in an appearance on The Tucker Carlson show this week. “Because, honestly, it’s a punch in the gut to all of our American cattle ranchers, and they are furious and rightfully so.”
Why Trump is locking horns with ranchers
Trump stoked panic among ranchers and concern from Republican lawmakers last week by announcing plans to quadruple beef imports from Argentina.
Beef prices are up 15 percent over the past year, according to federal inflation data released Friday, due to a combination of environmental factors and tariffs imposed through Trump’s trade war. Rising beef prices are a major part of the 3.1 percent increase in food prices over the past year.
Trump said bringing in beef from Argentina would reduce prices in the U.S. while bailing out the bankrupt South American nation. The president has approved billions of dollars in aid for the country to bolster his ally, Argentinian President Javier Milei, as he faces elections while presiding over an economic crisis.
“They’re fighting for their life. You understand what that means?” Trump told reporters Sunday in response to a question on Air Force One.
“They have no money, they have no anything. They’re fighting so hard to survive. If I can help them survive in a free world — I happen to like the president of Argentina, I think he’s trying to do the best he can. But don’t make it sound like they’re doing great,” he said.
The president was already facing bipartisan criticism over his decision to bail out Argentina through $20 billion in direct financial support during the ongoing government shutdown, which has left thousands of military and federal workforce members without pay.
But his decision to quadruple the quota for tariff-free Argentinian beef farmers infuriated ranchers and some GOP lawmakers.
“We love you and support you — but your suggestion to buy beef from Argentina to stabilize beef prices would be an absolute betrayal to the American cattle rancher,” Wyoming-based Meriwether Farms wrote in a post on X, addressing Trump.
In a statement to The Hill, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said “the Trump administration remains committed to addressing the needs and concerns of American cattle producers and safeguarding their interests at home and abroad,” touting “billions in new export opportunities for American agricultural products in our historic trade deals.”
Desai said, “the Administration is focused on reversing a prolonged decrease in the supply of live cattle by growing American cattle herds with robust action to deliver disaster relief to cattle country, support new ranchers, and reduce risk for cattle producers.”
Adding insult to injury
Trump had enjoyed strong support from the American agriculture sector throughout his first term, even as the costs of his trade war piled up for farmers.
Pork and soybean producers struggled through steep declines in international sales during the first Trump administration, particularly as China pulled back on its orders of American farm goods.
Even so, agricultural interests largely stood by Trump. The first administration pumped billions of dollars in economic relief into the agriculture sector while pursuing deals meant to open up foreign markets to U.S. exports and stave off competition from abroad.
Trump’s second term, however, has been far more contentious.
U.S. farmers and ranchers are struggling again with the backlash to Trump’s tariffs, which have prompted trade partners to impose their own taxes on American goods or spurn them altogether.
The American agriculture sector is also struggling to keep up with the rising costs of materials, such as fertilizers subject to tariffs, and labor shortages driven by Trump’s immigration agenda.
“The result is not merely a short-term disruption,” wrote experts with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in a Tuesday analysis.
“It could signal a sweeping reconfiguration of global agricultural trade stretching from Latin America to Europe and Australia.”
While Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins have vowed to sustain farmers through a brutal stretch for the ag economy, the president’s decision to help Argentina is undercutting those promises.
The U.S. beef industry has struggled to replace sales to China, which have fallen by more than 90 percent since March, the CSIS experts noted.
“These lost sales have rippled across the American agricultural heartland,” they wrote. “Given that China is a top export market for these sellers, its retaliatory trade barriers are forcing farmers to rethink their business strategy.”
The Argentina bailout was already causing angst among some parts of the agriculture sector and its congressional allies even before Trump announced plans to buy beef from the country.
As U.S. soybean producers struggle to sell their harvests to foreign buyers, Argentina has struck up a closer trade relationship with China. Beijing has purchased several shiploads of soybeans from Argentina after cutting its U.S. imports, allowing Milei to play both sides of Trump’s trade war.
“The president would be better off if he’d keep his mouth shut on that issue and not tweet about it,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), responding to Trump’s pressure on U.S. ranchers, according to the Des Moines Register.
Grassley’s home state has been hit hard by the backlash to Trump’s trade war, given the Hawkeye State’s heavy reliance on soybean, pork and beef exports.
“You aren’t going to win it. He should concentrate on what he’s doing to help the beef producers,” he said.
Congress beefs with Trump
Some critics of Trump’s plan to buy Argentinian beef say it’s driven more by his desire to help Milei than an interest in bringing down prices.
“Look, I’m all for lowering prices, but this is not actually about lowering prices. This is about taking care of his buddy,” said Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.)
And even those who don’t share Trump’s trade goals — such as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the libertarian Trump dismissed as a “nasty little guy” — say the Argentina plan is out of step with Trump’s agenda.
Paul said the plan “seems to kind of go against the protectionism that he’s promoting in every other industry, and so I think there are some inconsistencies in that. I personally am for competition and for international trade.”
While Trump has remained defiant in the face of criticism, beef producers and their advocates in Congress are pushing the administration to take different actions to support the U.S. beef industry.
“This isn’t the way to do it,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said this week of Trump’s efforts to drive down prices. “It’s created a lot of uncertainty in that market. So I’m hoping that the White House has gotten the message.”
The administration on Wednesday released a plan to bolster the U.S. beef supply by increasing access to grazing land, cutting back inspection costs and fostering more domestic demand for beef.
Beef industry groups are also urging the Trump administration to finish work on a facility meant to fight the New World screw worm parasite, which can spread among cattle with devastating effect, and tighten country-of-origin labeling rules.
“If President Trump is truly an ally of America’s cattle producers, we call on him to abandon this effort to manipulate markets and focus instead on the promised New World Screwworm facilities in Texas; making additional investments that protect the domestic cattle herd from foreign animal diseases … and addressing regulatory burdens,” said National Cattlemen’s Beef Association CEO Colin Woodall in a Wednesday statement.
Filip Timotija contributed.
