Trump prods American cattle ranchers to 'get their prices down' amid tariff battle
President Donald Trump said in a social media post Wednesday that American cattle ranchers "have to get their prices down," and that the tariffs he's enacted are "the only reason they are doing so well, for the first time in decades."
"The Cattle Ranchers, who 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 just as they’ve done for the past 20 years — Terrible!" the post continued, adding "It would be nice if they would understand that, but they also have to get their prices down, because the consumer is a very big factor in my thinking, also!"
The president's comments come amid increasing 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 Monday that the U.S. could buy beef from Argentina as prices for U.S.-grown beef continue to rise.
“We would buy some beef from Argentina,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. "If we do that, that will bring our beef prices down, because our groceries are down, our energy prices are down. ... The one thing that's kept up is beef, and if we buy some beef now, I'm not talking about that much from Argentina. That would help Argentina, which we consider a very good country, a very good ally in a place.”
"Since hearing the president’s comments suggesting the U.S. would buy beef from Argentina, I’ve been in touch with his administration and my colleagues to seek clarity and express my deep concerns," Senator Deb Fischer, R-Neb., posted on X on Tuesday.
"Bottom line: if the goal is addressing beef prices at the grocery store, this isn’t the way," Fischer continued, in part. "I strongly encourage the Trump administration to focus on trade deals that benefit our ag producers—not imports that will do more harm than good."
Scott Thomsen, a fourth-generation cattle, corn and soybean farmer, told ABC News Live he opposes Trump's proposal to import beef from Argentina to address rising meat prices.
"We need to reduce imports. We need to grow our herd," said Thompsen, who said he is a Trump supporter. "We need to grow domestic beef in this country. We have the means to do it, and I think we should not be looking for new markets to bring beef in here."
Mark McHargue, the president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau, also criticized the potential agreement with Argentina.
"Unfortunately we have an administration that thinks they have to lower the price of beef," McHargue posted on X. "Nebraska Farm Bureau is adamantly opposed to anything that would artificially lower the price of beef ... quite frankly we need this bright spot in Nebraska."
Multiple factors are contributing to high beef prices, according to the Nebraska Farm Bureau, including a "multi-decade" low cattle supply due to drought, forced culling of herds, a "lack of cattle coming from Mexico due to screwworm" and resulting "record-high cow prices."
"Agriculture is the #1 industry in Nebraska and cattle production represents the largest segment of the industry," according to the Nebraska Beef Council, which said as of 2023, cattle in the state outnumbered people by a 3-to-1 margin.
Trump's comments on Monday came less than a week after the president announced a $20 billion bailout for Argentina's foundering economy, prompting questions as to why the U.S. would commit billions to boost the economy of a foreign country when thousands of American farmers are suffering.
ABC News' Isabella Murray and Ben Siegel contributed to this report.
