President Donald Trump announced the United States will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef imports to enter over the next 90 days without facing out-of-quota tariffs, and he said the beef will be sold at 25 percent below current market prices. The White House said Trump will formally sign an executive order on the tariff waiver for beef trimmings within the next two weeks, but the administration has not named the foreign exporters or domestic companies that made the pricing commitments. U.S. cattle numbers are at their lowest since the 1950s after years of drought, high feed costs and herd liquidation, a factor cited for 2026’s record-high beef prices. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association and Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., warned the import relief will depress cattle markets, harm ranchers and make it harder to rebuild the domestic herd; industry reporting said cattle markets fell sharply after the announcement. A May report cited by the administration noted imports under quota face about 4.4 cents per kilogram in tariff versus a 26.4 percent tariff above quota, a difference that can exceed $1.80 per kilogram for beef priced around $7 per kilogram. The administration framed the move as short-term relief for grocery prices and as giving space for the U.S. herd to recover, while critics say the policy sacrifices long-term herd expansion and rancher incomes for near-term price relief.
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