Where's the beef? Trump reveals two countries for his import plan
President Donald Trump on Friday revealed two countries from which the United States will be importing beef as part of his plan to address rising prices.
Trump announced in August that his administration would be waiving tariffs on some imported beef to address high grocery prices , as affordability looms over the midterms in November. He said the plan would allow up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported with "no out of quota tariff" over a 90-day period.
His remarks come as he signed two executive orders aimed at bolstering American cattlemen after facing backlash over the import plan.
The president's plan has faced criticism from ranchers and Republicans concerned about the impact on domestic cattlemen .
Trump promised to bring down prices while campaigning for president in 2024, and the plan could help do so for millions of Americans. But it puts him in a tough situation as he faces backlash from ranchers. States with high beef production like Texas, Kansas and Nebraska all easily for Trump by double digits in 2024, but Democrats are hoping to compete in those states in November. The beef plan could add a new layer of complexity to those races.
During the signing ceremony, Trump was asked where the imported beef would be coming from by a reporter at the White House on Friday.
President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order in Washington, D.C. on September 4, 2026.
"It's coming from different places. It's coming from Argentina . It's coming from Brazil . It's coming from a couple of other places. We have our inspectors down. It's very clean. It's very good," he said.
He said there "could be other countries," but that it is currently "primarily Argentina and Brazil."
"We're doing it in a very limited fashion because our ranchers can handle it. But our ranchers really needed a little bit of help. And our ranchers want the prices to be down too. They want to see the prices go down."
Cattlemen Group Opposes Trump Beef Plan
Trump's announcement in August faced criticism from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), which said in a statement it is "disappointed" in the news.
"America's cattle producers share the goal of keeping groceries affordable for consumers, flooding the market with government-subsidized, below-market beef is not the way to rebuild the American cattle herd," NCBA Chief Executive Officer Colin Woodall wrote in a statement. "Cattle markets have already turned sharply lower this morning, to the detriment of farmers and ranchers."
What Does Trump's New Executive Order Do for Ranchers?
On Friday, Trump signed two new executive orders aimed at supporting ranchers.
One of the orders dealt with helping ranchers combat predators by ordering the Secretary of the Interior to determine if gray wolves or Mexican wolves meet the criteria for delisting or downlisting under the Endangered Species Act, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Trump also ordered the Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture to update standards for compensating ranchers who have suffered losses due to predators.
Separately, the order included a review into country of origin labeling on beef products.
The second order directed USDA to prioritize investigations into potential Packers and Stockyards Act violations and expand Cooperative Interstate Shipment and Talmadge-Aiken programs to allow state-inspected meat to cross state lines, according to USDA.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins praised Trump's "focus on rebuilding the Great American Cattle Herd."
"Today, the President laid out tools to better equip farmers and ranchers to deal with dangerous predators threatening their livestock, provide more transparency for consumers on where their meat originates, and expand market opportunities while maintaining our world class food safety standards," she wrote in a statement.
However, Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, criticized the order in a post to X.
"Contrary to rumors, Trump's Executive Order issued today does NOT implement Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling for beef. They're going to study the problem until AFTER the election, and then they MAY do something about it, IF the law allows them (it does not)," he wrote.
Republican Backlash
Trump's beef plan was met with a chilly reception from Republicans, especially those representing beef-producing states.
Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana wrote on X that he has advised Trump against this for a year "because American ranchers have been struggling against the packer monopoly for decades, and this will further harm them – most of whom are MAGA Republicans."
"The President's heart is in the right place on wanting lower prices for the American people, and beef prices have been impacted by the Mexican screwworm," he wrote. "But the reality is this action will make it more difficult for American ranchers to rebuild our herd and bring prices down for the American people. And most importantly, this will harm our ranching families who feed the nation."
Beef Prices Surge
Beef prices have steadily increased over the past few years, hitting $6.885 per pound in July, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. For comparison, it was $6.254 per pound in July 2025 and $4.388 per pound in July 2021, according to the Fed.
This surge is contributing to higher grocery prices for millions of Americans, who have been grappling with higher costs across the board, including housing and energy. The high cost-of-living has become a political sore spot for Republicans, who are losing support from independents over frustration with Trump's handling of the economy.
The rising beef prices have been attributed to a shrinking number of domestic cattle.
A June 2026 report from the lobbying group Coalition for a Prosperous America found numerous reasons the price has increased, including that the number of U.S. cattle had fallen to 86.2 million, the smallest in 75 years. Additionally, there are more than 450,000 fewer cattle ranchers than in 1997, according to the report.
It also found that drought has made the crisis worse, with 75 percent of the beef cow herd being raised in drought.
The Department of Justice is investigating major U.S. retailers including Kroger, Publix, Walmart, Albertsons, Aldi, Ahold Delhaize USA, Costco and Amazon over rising beef prices, Newsweek reported on Wednesday.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Gray R. Thomas
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