Trump's Comments on Biden Administration Impact on Beef Prices and Cattle Herd
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In a post on Truth Social, Trump noted that under the Biden administration, “beef prices soared at their fastest rate” and added that the American beef herd decreased “to its smallest size.” Trump also noted that by allowing 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported for 90 days with no tariffs, it would help to “reduce prices for Americans” while also allowing the beef herd to grow in the U.S.
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Washington TimesPresident Trump said he will waive higher tariffs on ground beef imports, a move aimed at lowering prices for Americans struggling with soaring meat prices.
The FederalistTrump announced Friday that the United States “will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef to be imported with no out of quota tariff” for the next 90 days, and that such product “will be sold at 25 percent below current market prices.” While touted by the president as an effort to reduce ground beef prices for American families, the policy shift was met with concerned pushback from lawmakers representing rural states responsible for U.S. cattle production.
The Daily WirePresident Donald Trump said Friday that he reached a deal to increase beef imports into the United States with the goal of driving down prices.
USA TodayWASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he will ease tariffs on up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef imported into the United States for the next 90 days in a bid to reduce the prices Americans are paying for the grocery staple ahead of the November midterm election.
The HillTrump defends beef import plan after GOP blowback President Trump Friday defended his decision to temporary suspend higher tariffs on ground beef imports, saying it’s “what the people want.” “We want to get the beef prices down so we will get them down a little bit,” Trump said before boarding Air Force One to fly to South Carolina.  “That’s what people want, that’s…
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But Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Montana, a Trump ally from one of the nation's largest cattle states, said he urged the president not to take the action, saying it will "further harm" ranchers "most of whom are MAGA Republicans."
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BreitbartIn a post on X, Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) expressed that he had warned Trump “against this course of action,” adding that ranchers in the U.S. “have been struggling against the packer monopoly for decades.”
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"The President’s heart is in the right place on wanting lower prices for the American people, and beef prices have been impacted by the Mexican screwworm," Sheehy wrote in a post on X. "But the reality is this action will make it more difficult for American ranchers to rebuild our herd and bring prices down for the American people."
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Breitbart“I’ve advised President Trump against this course of action for a year because American ranchers have been struggling against the packer monopoly for decades, and this will further harm them — most of whom are MAGA Republicans,” Sheehy wrote. “The President’s heart is in the right place on wanting lower prices for the American people, and beef prices have been impacted by the Mexican screwworm.”
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Beef prices in the U.S. have shot up in 2026 due to a reduction in the nation’s cattle herd from years of drought, high feed costs and strong consumer demand.
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The Daily WireResearch indicates that the American cattle herd has fallen to its lowest level in 75 years and the Economic Research Service recently noted that “wholesale beef prices remain at all-time highs for this time of year.” In June 2026, beef and veal prices were up 11.8% from June 2025 and prices are predicted to only increase.
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The average cost of ground beef is $6.89 per pound, a 57% increase from 2021, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
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BreitbartTrump’s post comes as data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on the website for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows that as of July 2026, the average price for 100 percent ground beef in the U.S. is roughly $6.88.
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Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 RealClearPolitics Trump Hits Pause on a Free-Trade Beef
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02 USA Today The price of beef and veal was up 9.4% in the United States in July over the previous year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as year-over-year inflation eased slightly from June. Stubborn inflation poses a major challenge politically for Trump and Republicans in the midterm election as they look to maintain control of Congress.
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03 The Hill Trump’s move to pause beef tariffs risks blowback 😎 Plus: South Carolina gets a dose of Trump {beacon}   It’s Friday. Against all odds and several hundred emails, we’ve made it.   In today’s issue: Beef tariffs get a timeout Bessent weighs America’s debt Trump goes all in for Graham IndyCar zooms into DC Programming note: Hello! We are Colin Meyn and Steff…
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04 Washington Times That would temporarily remove higher tariffs triggered when trade volume surpasses a certain quota, according to the World Trade Organization.
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05 The Federalist Beef is a very cyclical industry, largely driven by the fact that it takes nine months to create a new calf, and another year or two (at a minimum) to bring it to market and process it. Because of the difficulty of predicting demand that far out, plus the difficulty of matching supply to that demand, we end up with big swings in prices in every five-to-10-year cycle.
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06 The Daily Wire Trump also directed the Justice Department to launch investigations into meat packing companies over alleged collusion to drive up prices.
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07 Breitbart The Hill reported that Trump’s announcement would “likely anger the cattle industry as more imported beef makes its way into the country.”
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Sources (7)
- dailywire
- federalist
- breitbart
- thehill
- usatoday
- rcp
- washtimes