Beef prices in the United States have climbed sharply in 2026, and President Donald Trump announced Friday that he will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of beef trimmings to enter the country over the next three months without being subject to out-of-quota tariffs. Trump also said he secured a commitment that the imported beef would be sold at 25 percent below current market prices.
According to CNBC, Trump made the announcement on Truth Social. The White House said Trump will formally sign an executive order on the tariff waiver within the next two weeks. Trump's post did not identify which foreign beef exporters were part of the deal, and he did not name which companies had made the pricing commitments.
Trump framed the move as a short-term measure, writing that it came "as we work to rebuild this herd [of U.S. cattle] and help our ranchers." The U.S. cattle herd is currently at its lowest point since the 1950s, reduced by years of drought, high feed costs, and herd liquidation. Beef prices have risen significantly as a result.
Under current trade rules, the U.S. imposes tariffs on imported beef once imports exceed a quota limit for individual countries. A May report from the American Farm Bureau Federation noted that "imports entering under quota generally face a tariff of just 4.4 cents per kilogram, while imports above quota face a 26.4% tariff." The same report noted that "for beef valued around $7 per kilogram, that difference can exceed $1.80 per kilogram in tariff costs."
The reaction from Republican cattle-state senators was swift and negative. Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana said on X that he had advised Trump against the move for a year. "American ranchers have been struggling against the packer monopoly for decades, and this will further harm them — most of whom are MAGA Republicans," Sheehy wrote. He added that "the President's heart is in the right place on wanting lower prices for the American people, and beef prices have been impacted by the Mexican screwworm," but said the action "will make it more difficult for American ranchers to rebuild our herd and bring prices down for the American people." Sheehy concluded that "most importantly, this will harm our ranching families who feed the nation."
Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska was equally direct. "I'm extremely disappointed by this decision from the White House," she wrote on X. "We all want lower grocery prices, but as I've said for months, we cannot do it at the expense of American producers. Flooding the market with foreign beef hurts our livestock industry and undermines the long-term solution: growing the U.S. cattle herd to meet demand."
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association also criticized the decision, saying it would not address Trump's stated goal of increasing the size of the domestic cattle herd.
Trump's announcement came as Republicans in Congress have grown concerned that rising food costs could cost the party seats in November's congressional elections. The tariff waiver is a temporary measure, and the formal executive order is expected to be signed within the coming two weeks. It remains unclear which countries or companies are bound by the 25 percent below-market pricing commitment Trump referenced in his post.
