The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is pushing back against President Donald Trump’s plan to increase imports of beef from Argentina, a move the administration says would help bring down grocery store prices but that ranchers argue would undercut the U.S. cattle industry.
In a social media post, President Trump defended his record of supporting ranchers, saying tariffs on imported cattle and beef have strengthened domestic markets.
The NCBA ,however, argues that expanding beef imports from Argentina would do little to lower grocery prices while threatening the livelihoods of U.S. cattlemen and women. The group took umbrage with the President’s comment that he is responsible for the success of ranchers.
“The reality is that ranchers’ success is driven by their own hard work,” NCBA responded on social media. “America’s cattlemen and women operate in one of the most competitive marketplaces in the world. U.S. cattle producers are proud to provide the safest, highest-quality beef on earth. We simply ask that the government not undercut them by importing more Argentinian beef in order to manipulate prices.”
“The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and its members cannot stand behind the President while he undercuts the future of family farmers and ranchers by importing Argentinian beef in an attempt to influence prices,” said NCBA CEO Colin Woodall. “It is imperative that President Trump and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins let the cattle markets work.”
NCBA points out that the United States already faces a deep trade imbalance with Argentina, one that is made worse by the President’s plan. During the past five years, Argentina has shipped beef valued at more than $800 million to the U.S., while purchasing only $7 million of U.S. beef. Furthermore, Argentina is a nation with a long history of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), and USDA has not completed the necessary steps to ensure Argentina can guarantee the safety of the products being shipped here, further endangering America’s cattle herd.
“If President Trump is truly an ally of America’s cattle producers, we call on him to abandon this effort to manipulate markets and focus instead on the promised New World Screwworm facilities in Texas; making additional investments that protect the domestic cattle herd from foreign animal diseases such as FMD; and addressing regulatory burdens, such as delisting of the gray wolf and addressing the scourge of black vultures,” said Woodall.
The post from President Trump came just hours before Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced a long-awaited plan to strengthen the American beef industry.
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NCBA
