RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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House and Senate Republicans on Friday criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend tariffs on ground beef imports, with lawmakers from agricultural states decrying the impact Trump’s decision will have on farmers. Nebraska’s GOP senators, Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts, said in separate posts on X that Trump’s decision was unwise. “I’m extremely disappointed by this decision from the White House,” Fischer wrote. “We all want lower grocery prices, but as I’ve said for months, we cannot do it at the expense of American producers. Flooding the market with foreign beef hurts our livestock industry.” Ricketts wrote: “I appreciate the Administration’s work to lower grocery prices. Short term policy shifts do not equal long term solutions. Flooding the market with lower quality beef compromises Nebraska farmers and ranchers.” The president announced Friday on Truth Social 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. We have a commitment that this beef will be sold at 25 percent below current market prices.” Trump did not say which companies that import beef had agreed to this commitment or what countries would supply the meat. Explaining his decision, the president pledged that this deal “will reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again.” Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., also cited the hardships American cattle farmers would face as a result of the president’s decision and referred to conversations he’s had with Trump about this issue. “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 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. And most importantly, this will harm our ranching families who feed the nation.” Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, who is running for Senate and received Trump’s endorsement in the race, also panned his announcement, writing in a post on X, “I want to lower prices but this is a bad idea.” Hinson said that instead of allowing beef imports without tariffs, “We should be focused on cutting red tape for cattle producers, lowering the cost of production, and supporting market-based solutions to support Iowa producers and lower costs for consumers.” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, writing in his custom shorthand on X, also expressed concern about Trump’s announcement, writing that “USA cattlemen shld always be put 1st thru America 1st policies.” Grassley also expressed a “need 2keep up progress fighting screwworm+ expanding domestic herd.” On Friday, the president defended his decision when asked at Joint Base Andrews about the criticism he was facing from fellow Republicans. “Well, we want to get the beef prices down, so we’ll get them down a little bit, and that’s what people want. That’s what the voters want, and that’s what I want,” he told reporters. “The ranchers are great. They’re my people. I love the ranchers. They’ve done a fantastic job, but they admit that we need a little help, and in order to get the prices down, so that’s what we’re doing.” The White House did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment on the lawmakers’ criticisms of Trump’s plan. U.S. cattle ranchers have faced headwinds for years that have sent beef prices higher, including shrinking supply. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the United States’ current cattle herd is the nation’s smallest since 1951. A flesh-eating screwworm that targets cattle was also detected in the U.S. earlier this year for the first time in decades, further threatening cattle herds. Trump first floated the idea of lowering imports on beef last year, but the notion was quickly shot down by a similar group of GOP senators from agricultural states. “I represent a beef-producing state. We have four times as many cattle as people,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said at the time, explaining his opposition. On Friday, leaders for a top industry group representing cattle farmers, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, also said they were “disappointed” with Trump’s announcement. “NCBA is disappointed by the President’s statement,” said Colin Woodall, the group’s chief executive officer. “While America’s cattle producers share the goal of keeping groceries affordable for consumers, flooding the market with government-subsidized, below-market beef is not the way to rebuild the American cattle herd.” “Today’s announcement and other market interventions throw cold water on the prospect of herd expansion and sacrifices long-term stability for short term messaging,” Woodall added.
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