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President Donald Trump on Friday signed an govt order briefly increasing the quantity of beef the U.S. can import from Argentina, a transfer the White Home says is geared toward reducing costs however that the nation’s largest cattle business group disputes.
The proclamation will increase the in-quota tariff-rate quota for lean beef trimmings by 80,000 metric tons for calendar yr 2026. The extra imports can be allotted fully to Argentina and launched in 4 quarterly tranches starting Feb. 13.
The White Home mentioned the motion is meant to spice up provide and make floor beef extra inexpensive for American customers in a truth sheet on the order.
In keeping with the proclamation, the Trump administration is appearing in response to traditionally excessive beef costs and a protracted lower within the U.S. cattle herd.
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Packages of meat at a grocery store in Houston (Ronald Schemidt/AFP through Getty Pictures / Getty Pictures)
“Since January 2021, floor beef costs have continued to rise, reaching a median of $6.69 per pound in December 2025, in line with the Bureau of Labor Statistics — the best because the Division of Labor began monitoring beef costs within the Nineteen Eighties,” the proclamation states.
The announcement drew pushback from the nation’s largest cattle business group, which questioned whether or not elevated imports would ship the value aid the administration is promising.
“Whereas we essentially disagree with the premise that elevated imports can decrease beef costs, NCBA is inspired to see the Trump administration take needed steps to handle longstanding market-access challenges for U.S. beef in Argentina,” mentioned Kent Bacus, govt director of worldwide commerce and market entry on the Nationwide Cattlemen’s Beef Affiliation (NCBA).
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Livestock in corrals in Canuelas, Buenos Aires, Argentina (Agustin Marcarian/Reuters / Reuters Images)
Bacus warned that Argentina’s historical past with international animal illnesses raises issues about increasing imports with out stronger safeguards.
“Given Argentina’s points with international animal illnesses, NCBA stays involved that increasing imports from Argentina with out elevated inspection protocols and up-to-date audits may place American customers and our cattle herd at pointless danger,” Bacus mentioned.
The order applies solely to lean beef trimmings, that are primarily used within the manufacturing of floor beef. Imported lean trimmings are generally blended with fattier home trimmings to provide floor beef merchandise like hamburgers.
Below the proclamation, the extra 80,000 metric tons can be administered on a first-come, first-served foundation in 4 equal tranches of 20,000 metric tons. The primary tranche will open Feb. 13 and shut March 31, adopted by quarterly openings via the top of 2026.
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A butcher carries slabs of beef in a Miami grocery retailer. (Joe Raedle/Getty Pictures / Getty Pictures)
The White Home framed the motion as momentary and tied to present provide circumstances reasonably than a everlasting shift in American commerce coverage.
The proclamation outlines a number of components contributing to the tight beef provide, together with persistent drought circumstances in main cattle-producing states similar to Texas and Kansas and wildfires which have broken grazing land and feed provides throughout the western U.S.
The Trump administration mentioned the choice to allocate all the enhance to Argentina aligns with an present U.S.–Argentina commerce framework settlement reached in November 2025. A White Home official informed FOX Enterprise earlier this week that the chief order implements commitments already thought of beneath that framework.
The White Home referred FOX Enterprise to a truth sheet upon request for additional remark.
FOX Enterprise’ Edward Lawrence contributed to this reporting.
