For Immediate Release
By: R-CALF USA Communications Director Jaiden Moreland
Contact: R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard
Phone: 406-252-2516; r-calfusa@r-calfusa.com
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 7, 2026 – Yesterday, R-CALF USA testified before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative during a public hearing on the Section 301 investigation into Brazil’s trade practices, urging the agency to remove Brazilian beef from its proposed list of tariff exemptions and apply a 25% tariff to all Brazilian beef imports.
The USTR’s proposal to apply tariffs on Brazilian goods resulted from the USTR’s investigation that found, among other things, that illegal cattle ranching in Brazil was a primary cause of Brazil’s unlawful deforestation and Brazil had failed to eliminate this illicit activity. The USTR determined that tariff action was necessary because Brazil’s actions force U.S. producers to compete with artificially lower-cost Brazilian agricultural products. Despite the investigative findings, the USTR proposed to exempt beef and beef products from the proposed tariff action.
R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard testified that Brazil monetizes illegal deforestation through beef exports to the U.S., and to exempt beef would be to exempt the product most directly responsible for Brazil’s actionable conduct. Bullard stated that decades of rising beef imports, including a dramatic increase of imports from Brazil since 2020, have displaced domestic production, discouraged herd rebuilding, weakened the nation’s competitive cattle infrastructure and increased U.S. dependence on imported beef. He urged the USTR to apply the proposed 25% tariff to Brazilian beef to help restore fair competition for America’s independent cattle producers.
Bullard pointed out that Brazil was far exceeding the tariff quota the U.S. put in place in 1994 to protect the domestic cattle industry from excessive, price-depressing imports. “Record volumes of Brazilian beef enter the U.S. unabated by over-quota tariffs. This beef is contributing substantially to the burgeoning mountain of unmanaged, price-depressing imports that decimated the competitive infrastructure of the U.S. cattle industry, rendering it incapable of meeting America’s beef demand.”
In his conclusion, Bullard stated that the proposed exemption on beef would significantly contribute to the growing volume of imports “that are undermining the very price signals and policy confidence American ranchers need to make the long-term investment necessary to begin rebuilding the domestic cattle herd.”
Read Bullard’s full written testimony here and his pre-hearing submission here.
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Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA) is the largest producer-only lobbying and trade association representing U.S. cattle and sheep producers. It is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle and sheep industries. Visit www.r-calfusa.com or call 406-252-2516 for more information.