President Donald Trump said this week he “loved” America’s cattle ranchers. But those farmers, who overwhelmingly supported the president in the 2024 election, say they aren’t feeling the love right now.
Trump is facing criticism from many US cattle ranchers after signaling support for increasing low-tariff beef imports from Argentina to ease record beef prices in the United States. The move comes just weeks after US soybean farmers blasted a separate deal with Argentina that they fear will give South American producers a competitive edge in that market.
Argentina currently accounts for just over 2% of US beef imports. Under existing rules, it can ship up to 20,000 metric tons a year at a lower tariff rate, with anything above that subject to a 26.4% tariff, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
A White House official told CNN the administration plans to raise that quota to 80,000 metric tons, effectively quadrupling the amount of Argentinian beef with low tariffs that can enter the United States.
A worker pushes a beef carcass in a meat processing plant in Moron, Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 16.
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