Trump wants cheaper burgers — MAGA ranchers say they’re getting grilled

BS BULLETIN:

Trump will temporarily allow up to 300,000 metric tons of imported ground-beef product into the U.S. at lower tariffs to attack record beef prices.
Republican senators and major cattle groups are pushing back hard.
One problem: economists question whether the imports are large enough to meaningfully lower supermarket prices.

President Trump has a new plan to bring down the price of hamburger. American cattlemen have a message for him: Not like this.

Trump announced Friday that the United States will temporarily allow up to 300,000 metric tons of product used for ground beef to enter the country over the next 90 days without triggering the usual higher “out-of-quota” tariff. Trump said foreign suppliers have committed to selling the beef at 25% below current market prices as his administration tries to give consumers relief at the grocery store.

“As we work to rebuild this herd and help our ranchers,” Trump said in announcing the plan, the administration would bring in the additional supply temporarily. But some of the people Trump says he’s trying to help aren’t exactly sending thank-you notes.

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association CEO Colin Woodall blasted the policy as sacrificing “long-term stability for short term messaging,” arguing that dumping discounted foreign beef into the market works against efforts to rebuild the American cattle herd.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall was even more alarmed, saying farmers and ranchers were “extremely disappointed” and warning that the move could amount to nearly a 60% increase in beef imports during the 90-day period.

U.S. Cattlemen’s Association President Justin Tupper declared: “You don’t put America first by putting U.S. cattle producers last.”

And this isn’t just industry lobbying. Republicans from cattle country are openly breaking with Trump. Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy said the president’s “heart is in the right place,” but warned that importing more beef will “harm our ranching families who feed the nation.”

Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts agreed that grocery prices need attention but cautioned that “short term policy shifts do not equal long term solutions.”

Trump isn’t backing away. Asked Friday night about the criticism, the president responded: “I love the ranchers; they’ve done a fantastic job.” But he added that prices need to come down and “we need a little help.”

Economists aren’t convinced the plan will make that much difference at the meat counter.

Kansas State University agricultural economist Glynn Tonsor estimates that 300,000 metric tons represents only about 3% of the beef Americans consume in a year. “The relative magnitude we are talking about is pretty small,” Tonsor said.

Reuters likewise reports that economists and cattle traders question whether the additional imports are large enough to substantially move retail prices. Cattle futures, however, didn’t need much convincing — the market dropped following Trump’s announcement.

And that gets to the heart of the ranchers’ complaint. America’s cattle herd has been hammered by years of drought and contraction and remains near historic lows. Producers argue that today’s higher prices are finally giving ranchers an incentive to rebuild those herds. Their fear is that government-engineered cheap imports could knock down cattle prices now and discourage the very expansion needed to produce more American beef later.

In other words, Washington is attempting to solve a shortage by making the people who produce the product nervous about producing more of it.

MY QUICK TAKE

I understand what Trump is trying to do. Americans standing in the supermarket staring at the price of hamburger like it’s a monthly car payment aren’t interested in a five-year lecture on cattle inventories.

They want cheaper beef. Yesterday.

But there’s something decidedly un-MAGA-looking about telling American ranchers we’re going to save them by importing a mountain of cheaper foreign beef.

And if the economists are right that this isn’t enough beef to substantially lower grocery prices, we could achieve the rare Washington policy trifecta: Angry ranchers. Nervous cattle markets. And hamburger that’s still expensive.

That’s quite a cookout. If you’re going to promise America First beef, the fellow wearing the cowboy hat in Nebraska probably shouldn’t be wondering why his competition just arrived on a cargo ship.

DBS WIRE SOURCES: