Trump: Tariffs on Brazil Helped Cattle Ranchers
President Donald Trump pushed back on complaints from cattle ranchers and politicians who have large cattle industries in their states, arguing that the 50% tariff he put on Brazilian beef already juiced their bottom lines.
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Cattle ranchers were complaining about Trump's comments over the weekend that he could ink a trade deal with Argentina to help lower prices on beef. The U.S. consumes 12 million metric tons of beef a year, according to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. About 2 million metric tons of beef are imported, while 1.4 million metric tons are exported, according to the Progressive Farmer publication.
As Greer put it on CNBC Oct. 22, "We import a lot of beef, we export a lot of beef."
Trump wrote on social media later in the day: "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. If it weren’t for me, they would be doing just as they’ve done for the past 20 years — Terrible! 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!"
Greer said he'd been getting complaints from Republican senators and members about Trump's remarks about Argentine beef. "I don't see a world where there are millions and millions of metric tons flooding into this market," he said.
Progressive Farmer said Argentina is the 8th-largest source of beef; Canada and Australia export about 10 times as much to the U.S. as Argentina does.