President Donald Trump said in a social media post Wednesday that American ranchers “need to lower their prices” and that the tariffs he has enacted are “the only reason they are doing so well, for the first time in decades.”
“Livestock farmers, whom I love, don’t understand that the only reason they are doing so well, for the first time in decades, is because I put tariffs on cattle coming into the United States, including a 50% tariff on Brazil,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“If it weren’t for me, they would be doing the same thing they have done for the last 20 years – terrible!” The publication continued and added: “It would be nice if they understood, but they also have to lower the prices, because the consumer is also a very important factor in my way of thinking!”
The president’s comments come amid growing concern from American farmers about the negative effect Trump’s trade war with China is having on their ability to sell their crops, and his comments on Monday that the United States could buy beef from Argentina as a price for American-grown beef. keep going up.
“We would buy some meat from Argentina,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “If we do that, our meat prices will go down, because our groceries are low, our energy prices are low… The only thing that stays high is beef, and if we buy some meat now, I’m not talking much about Argentina. That would help Argentina, who we consider a very good country, a very good ally in one place.”
“Since hearing the president’s comments suggesting that the United States would purchase beef from Argentina, I have been in contact with his administration and my colleagues to seek clarity and express my deep concerns,” Sen. Deb Fisher, R-Neb., posted Tuesday.
“Bottom line: If the goal is to address beef prices in supermarkets, this is not the way,” Fisher continued, in part. “I strongly encourage the Trump administration to focus on trade deals that benefit our agricultural producers, not imports that will do more harm than good.”
Mark McHargue, president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau, also criticized the possible agreement with Argentina.
“Unfortunately we have an administration that thinks it has to lower the price of beef,” McHargue posted on
Multiple factors are contributing to high beef prices, according Nebraska Farm Bureau, including a low supply of cattle for “several decades” due to drought, forced culling of herds, a “lack of cattle coming from Mexico due to screwworm” and resulting “record cow prices.”
“Agriculture is the number one industry in Nebraska and livestock production represents the largest segment of the industry.” according the Nebraska Beef Council, which said that as of 2023, cattle in the state outnumbered people by a 3-to-1 margin.
Trump’s comments Monday came less than a week after the president announced a $20 billion bailout for Argentina’s sagging economy, raising questions about why the United States would commit billions to boost a foreign country’s economy when thousands of American farmers are suffering.
ABC News’ Isabella Murray and Ben Siegel contributed to this report.
