This browser does not support the Video element.
High beef prices hit consumers amid supply struggles
We are learning more this week as the Trump administration works to rebuild America’s shrinking cattle herd. Americans are currently looking for relief from high beef prices at the grocery store. Fox Business is reporting that ranchers are facing their smallest cattle herd in 75 years, a shortage now rippling from pastures to some of the nation’s largest meatpackers. LiveNOW’s Mike Pache is speaking with economic strategist Dan Varroney as shoppers continue to ask if any relief will come before the holiday season.
President Donald Trump announced a plan to temporarily increase U.S. beef imports in an effort to lower beef prices, but it’s facing pushback from ranchers and some conservative Republicans in rural states.
The president said Friday that his plan will help grow the U.S. cattle supply and lower record-high beef prices. Some ranchers and experts believe it will likely have the opposite effect.
Why are beef prices so high?
Big picture view:
Beef prices have climbed to record highs amid a drop in the number of U.S. cattle, consistent consumer demand and limits on cattle from Mexico, where the animals are facing a flesh-eating pest. The U.S. president has also imposed 50% tariffs on Brazil, a major beef exporter.
What is Trump’s plan to lower beef prices?
What we know:
Trump said on social media that the temporary boost in imported beef would be sold at 25% below current market rates, making it cheaper for American consumers.
Cuts of beef are displayed at a grocery store on April 06, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
A White House official told The Associated Press the deal is with foreign beef exporters who have agreed to the discount on beef. The White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the plan still in the works, said the beef in question is lean beef trimmings that are used for ground beef production. Trump plans to sign an executive order formalizing the directive within two weeks, the official said.
READ MORE: A historic shortage is squeezing an American dinner staple and relief could be years away
By the numbers:
The deal, Trump said, allows up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported into the U.S. for the next 90 days without activating an "out of quota" tariff, which is a tax that goes into effect once a certain quantity of that product enters the country.
What we don't know:
Trump didn’t specify which countries would import the beef while speaking to reporters Friday, but said "there are a few" and that they’ll send the "highest quality beef." It’s also unclear how much it will lower beef prices, if at all.
RELATED: One monthly bill Americans can’t avoid is quietly surging thanks to emerging industry
Glynn Tonsor, a professor at Kansas State University, said 300,000 metric tons amounts to roughly 3% of what Americans eat yearly, a "pretty small" amount.
Why are ranchers opposed to Trump’s plan?
The other side:
Ranchers, normally some of the president’s biggest supporters, are enjoying some rare profitable years and worry cheap beef imports will reduce cattle prices — and with it, the incentive to increase herd sizes.
"You don’t put America first by putting U.S. cattle producers last," U.S. Cattlemen’s Association President Justin Tupper said in a statement. "This move will weaken our markets and gamble with food safety in the process."
This browser does not support the Video element.
Beef prices continue to rise, causing economic fears
LiveNOW's Anna Marsick and Bloomberg reporter Enda Curran discuss the continued rising costs of beefs and how it is impacting the economy.
Republican leaders from big cattle-producing states were swift to criticize the plan.
"We all want lower grocery prices, but as I’ve said for months, we cannot do it at the expense of American producers," Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., said in a statement. "Flooding the market with foreign beef hurts our livestock industry and undermines the long-term solution: growing the U.S. cattle herd to meet demand."
Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., said in a social media post just hours after Trump announced the deal that the president’s "heart is in the right place," but importing beef will "harm our ranching families who feed the nation."
When asked by reporters Friday evening about criticism of the deal, Trump said, "I love the ranchers; they’ve done a fantastic job. But they admit that we need a little help, and, in order to get the prices down, so that’s what we’re doing."
The Source: This report includes information from The Associated Press.