WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has unexpectedly delayed a plan to lower tariffs on imported beef as it debates how to bring down food prices without undermining U.S. cattle ranchers.
White House officials on May 11 announced the pull-back of a plan for President Trump to issue executive orders to allow increased beef imports and support the renewal of America’s domestic cattle herd, saying Trump would instead sign orders to expand domestic beef production.
The swerve follows White House moves beginning last fall to suspend tariff increases on commodities including chocolate, coffee, and fruit after complaints from domestic food manufacturers. The administration also delayed planned increases on imported furniture and lumber products.
An earlier presidential order raising Argentina's quota for beef shipments into the U.S. was met with resistance from U.S. ranchers.
“There are two camps within the White House on whether tariffs or affordability is the right lever to pull on, and when it comes to food and grocery prices, they are really freaked out by that affordability question,” a U.S. agricultural official today told The Financial Times, which granted the source anonymity. The newspaper reported that the price of regular ground beef in U.S. supermarkets in March was up 16% from a year earlier, to $6.71 a pound.
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