Here is good news for American consumers and bad news for farmers: Donald Trump, despite his pledge to always prioritize “Made in USA” production, will temporarily suspend tariffs on certain beef imports in the hope of lowering prices.
“We want to lower beef prices, so we will lower them a little, that’s what people want. That’s what voters want,” the American president said on Friday.
“The farmers are great. They’re my guys. I love farmers,” he added, in an exchange with the press near Washington before embarking on a trip to the Southeast.
The cost of living is one of voters’ main concerns as looming midterm elections in November approach, and the Democratic opposition emphasizes that Donald Trump, with his broad tariffs and his war against Iran, is primarily responsible for the high cost of living.
In detail, the tariffs on the import of 300,000 tonnes of beef intended to be sold ground will be suspended over the next 90 days, the president announced on his Truth Social network.
Trump asserted that the imported meat would be sold “at a price 25% lower than current market prices.”
The United States is among the world’s top beef consumers, at a little over 23 kg per person in 2025, according to OECD data.
Yet prices for this meat have surged since the Covid-19 pandemic. Over the last twelve months, they have climbed by 10%, a rise that reflects both a drop in supply, higher costs for producers, and drought in major producing regions.
The American president did not specify which countries would supply the meat.
Trump had promised during his campaign to put “America First,” but his protectionist policy, intended to spur industrial and agricultural revival through tariffs on imported goods, is being undermined by persistent inflation.
On beef, his administration had already taken several measures to ease imports.
Thus, in late July he exempted Brazilian beef from a 25% surcharge applied to certain Brazilian imports.
