US President Donald Trump’s administration is quadrupling the country’s low-tariff imports of Argentine beef in his attempt to lower supermarket beef prices, a White House official said on Thursday, evoking fury from the nation’s cattle ranchers.
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Raising the tariff rate quota on Argentine beef to 80,000 metric tons will let the country ship more of its beef to the US at a lower rate of duty. US beef prices have set records due to tight cattle supplies and strong consumer demand.
The US Department of Agriculture on Wednesday announced a plan to expand the domestic cattle herd and support American cattle ranchers. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Fox Business Network’s Mornings with Maria said the administration was working to support both beef consumers and ranchers.
But raising imports has angered US ranchers, who largely supported Trump in his campaigns for president. They said the government should back US producers and that increased imports threaten their livelihoods.
Farmers were also angered by Trump’s US$20 billion currency swap with Argentina while they lost out to the South American nation on soybean sales to China.
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“A deal of this magnitude with Argentina would undercut the very foundation of our cattle industry,” said Justin Tupper, a South Dakota cattle producer and president of the United States Cattlemen’s Association.