Despite Trump's Promises To Lower Prices, Americans Are Still Asking, 'Where's The Beef?'
Despite Trump's Promises To Lower Prices, Americans Are Still Asking, 'Where's The Beef?'
Spencer Lombardo Sat, October 10, 2026 at 8:46 PM UTC
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Despite Trump's Promises To Lower Prices, Americans Are Still Asking, 'Where's The Beef?' ©(Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)President Donald Trump's moves to allow foreign beef to flood domestic markets in an attempt to lower prices may have been a losing bet. Trump is still facing backlash from U.
President Donald Trump's moves to allow foreign beef to flood domestic markets in an attempt to lower prices may have been a losing bet.
Trump is still facing backlash from U.S. ranchers and some Republicans over his decision to allow the importing of roughly 600 million pounds of foreign-supplied beef, POLITICO reported Friday. The move comes after beef prices rose to $6.92 per pound in August, up from the January 2025 average of $5.55 per pound. (RELATED: Ranchers Say Beef Market Has 'Been Hell' As Trump Announces Plan To Try And Help)
"President Trump has done more for American agriculture than anyone by negotiating new trade deals, expanding foreign market access, lowering input costs, bolstering the farm safety net, doubling the death tax exemption, ending taxes on rural property loan interest, creating rural opportunity zones, and more," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told the Daily Caller News Foundation. "At the same time, he is delivering on his promise to consumers by reducing beef prices while allowing our American beef herd to grow. The President will continue taking actions to support our great farmers while driving economic prosperity for all Americans."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture did not immediately respond to the DCNF's request for comment.
"There's a lot of frustration and anger," Kansas Farm Bureau President Glenn Brunkow, a fifth-generation farmer, told the outlet.
Brunkow said opening beef imports to countries like Brazil reduces the value of the American cow — which can usually sell for roughly $2,000 — by $200 to $400.
"We knew it wouldn't have much of an effect on the hamburger price in the store. But the markets took that news, and it really knocked the price we get for our cattle down," he said.
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Republican Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis likewise told POLITICO she's still facing backlash from ranchers in her state over the Trump's "somewhat self-defeating" proclamation.
Lummis, however, isn't the only Republican lawmaker to criticize the gambit.
Shortly after Trump — who famously campaigned for protectionist policies — posted Aug. 21 to Truth Social that the U.S. "will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef to be imported with no out of quota tariff [for the next 90 days]" and sell the beef "25 percent below current market prices," Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Tim Sheehy of Montana voiced their concerns on X.
Grassley posted he was "concerned for the cattle markets" and that the White House should instead focus on fighting the screwworm epidemic threatening the health of U.S. cattle while expanding domestic herds.
"I've advised President Trump against this course of action for a year because American ranchers have been struggling against the packer monopoly for decades, and this will further harm them - most of whom are MAGA Republicans," Sheehy also posted that same day.
Causing no discernible effect on prices, an estimated 8,054 to 21,936 metric tons of beef were imported into the U.S. in September that otherwise would not have entered the domestic market, the University of Arkansas reported.
The DCNF also reached out to Sens. Lummis, Grassley, Sheehy, and Jerry Moran of Kansas, along with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the U.S. Cattlemen's Association, the Montana Cattlemen's Association, the Montana Farmers Union, and the Kansas Farm Bureau for comments.
Editor's note: This report was with a comment from the White House.
Source: “AOL Breaking”
