For Immediate Release
Contact: R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard
Phone: 406-252-2516; r-calfusa@r-calfusa.com
Billings, Mont., Feb. 6, 2026 – Today, President Trump issued a proclamation entitled “Ensuring Affordable Beef for the American Consumer.” The proclamation increases the in-quota quantity of lean beef trimmings that can be imported from Argentina by an additional 80,000 metric tons during the 2026 calendar year, which is in addition to the 20,000-metric-ton annual in-quota quantity limit already applicable to Argentina.
The purpose of the proclamation is to increase the supply of imported lean beef trimmings from Argentina so American consumers would experience a decrease in the price of ground beef.
R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard issued the following statement in response to Trump’s new proclamation.
“Previous administrations had similarly invited increased beef imports from foreign countries with the same expectation that increased imported supplies would lower consumer beef prices. Such analyses by previous administrations accompanied proposals to allow additional beef imports from such countries as Argentina, Brazil, Namibia and Paraguay. In each of these analyses, the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted that the negative impact to cattle farmers and ranchers would be offset by a larger benefit to consumers.
“In practice, however, consumer beef prices were not reduced by increased supplies of imported beef. Instead, increased quantities of imports correlated with the shrinking of the U.S. cattle herd, the exodus of U.S. cattle farmers and ranchers, and higher consumer beef prices.
“The reason for this is that the U.S. cattle and beef market is so highly concentrated that it is susceptible to the exercise of abusive market power by dominant corporations that can reduce prices paid to cattle farmers and ranchers while raising prices to consumers. In such a concentrated market, dominant players can use additional import supplies to increase their margins rather than lower retail beef prices.
“America’s reticence to manage imports has relegated the U.S. to being a net beef importer for the past several decades, and those excessive imports are a major factor in the ongoing contraction of the U.S. cattle herd, which is now the smallest in over seven decades, and in forcing the exodus of over half of America’s cattle farms and ranches.
“Import volumes reached new record highs in each of the past three years, contributing to the ongoing liquidation of our U.S. cow herd, which is now in its seventh consecutive year of liquidation.
“Our industry is in a state of crisis and needs protection against price-depressing imports so it can rebuild to meet our national security objective of achieving self-sufficiency in beef production.
“While the intent of this agreement is to lower retail ground beef prices, it’s unlikely to achieve the intended result. It’s more likely to cause a reduction in cattle prices for U.S. farmers and ranchers – particularly prices for their cull animals that produce the same lean beef product that will be imported. And because the marketplace remains so highly concentrated, with a manifest disconnect between cattle prices and retail beef prices, it is as likely as not to have no impact on consumer ground beef prices.
“We’re thankful that this additional 80,000-metric-ton allocation is set to expire at the end of 2026. Nevertheless, inviting more and lower-cost imports into the U.S. market without at least informing consumers of the imported products’ foreign country of origin – so they can choose between imported and domestic beef at their grocery stores – will likely allow any benefits to flow to the global beef packers and retailers at the expense of U.S. cattle farmers and ranchers.
“While we appreciate President Trump’s efforts to achieve greater consumer affordability, what America must do to restore lasting affordability is rigorously enforce antitrust and fair-competition laws, align trade policy with food security through tariffs and tariff-rate quotas, and implement country-of-origin labeling so consumers can choose between imported beef and American beef.”
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Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA) is the largest producer-only cattle trade association in the United States. It is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle and sheep industries. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or call 406-252-2516.