WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he will ease tariffs on up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef imported into the United States for the next 90 days in a bid to reduce the prices Americans are paying for the grocery staple ahead of the November midterm election.
"This deal will reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again," Trump said.
The price of beef and veal was up 9.4% in the United States in July over the previous year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as year-over-year inflation eased slightly from June. Stubborn inflation poses a major challenge politically for Trump and Republicans in the midterm election as they look to maintain control of Congress.
Trump's move comes as imported beef into the United States has increased dramatically ‒ up 122% in five years, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation ‒ as the supply of domestic cattle remains at multi-decade lows following years of drought, the spread of the parasitic New World screwworm near the Mexican border and other factors.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association criticized Trump's action. "While America’s cattle producers share the goal of keeping groceries affordable for consumers, flooding the market with government-subsidized, below-market beef is not the way to rebuild the American cattle herd," the group said in a statement.
