Why importing more beef from Argentina won't ease costs for U.S. consumers

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President Trump's determination to boost U.S. imports of beef from Argentina to assistance easiness costs for consumers whitethorn person little interaction than the White House is hoping for, experts said.

The executive order, which Mr. Trump signed connected Friday amid a caller commercialized woody betwixt the 2 countries, allows Argentina to export an further 80,000 metric tons of beef to the U.S. tariff-free this year, according to the Trump administration. The directive applies to imports of thin beef trimmings, which are utilized to nutrient crushed beef.

"As President of the United States, I person a work to guarantee that hardworking Americans tin spend to provender themselves and their families," Mr. Trump said successful the order.

But David Ortega, a nutrient economist and prof astatine Michigan State University, told CBS News that 80,000 tons of beef represents lone 0.6% of the wide U.S. beef proviso — excessively small to determination the needle connected prices, helium said.

"We're talking astir little than 1% of supply," Ortega said. "And truthful I wouldn't expect this to person overmuch of an interaction connected these prices. Now, it doesn't hurt, but we're not talking astir immoderate large quantities that we are importing that would instantly suppress prices."

The U.S. produced astir 27 cardinal pounds of beef successful 2024, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shared connected Statista.

What drove up beef prices

Average crushed beef prices astir the U.S. reached $6.69 a lb successful December, up 19% from a twelvemonth ago, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Five years ago, consumers could bargain a lb of crushed beef for $3.95.

The biggest origin down the leap successful beef prices: Extreme upwind conditions that person shrunk the nation's cattle supply. Droughts, including a caller bout of adust upwind successful 2022 that affected beef-producing states, person made it harder for farmers to turn crops needed for feedstock and forced galore cattle ranchers to merchantability disconnected their beef cows. Wildfires person besides ravaged grasslands utilized to graze cattle, according to the White House.

By contrast, the outgo of chickenhearted and eggs, which spiked successful 2022 amid an avian flu outbreak that required the demolition of millions of birds, has precocious dipped, St. Louis Fed figures show.

"While prices for different proteins specified arsenic eggs, pork and chickenhearted person declined successful caller months, beef prices stay elevated," a Department of Agriculture spokesperson said successful an email. "This is owed to the cleanable tempest of sustained summation successful user request for beef, coupled with a prolonged alteration successful the proviso of unrecorded cattle."

The country's beef cattle proviso stood astatine 27.6 cardinal connected Jan. 1, down 1% from a twelvemonth ago, according to USDA data. Overall, the full fig of cattle successful the U.S. is astatine a 75-year-low.

In a information sheet past week, the White House acknowledged the proviso challenges facing the U.S.

"President Trump is responding to marketplace challenges and ensuring a plentiful crushed beef proviso for American families astatine affordable prices by taking enactment connected aggregate fronts."

So what would lower costs?

Derrell Peel, a prof successful the section of cultivation economics astatine Oklahoma State University, besides expressed skepticism that the enforcement bid volition assistance easiness costs for home consumers, saying there's "nothing that the medication tin bash successful the abbreviated tally to marque U.S. beef prices travel down."

That's due to the fact that the cardinal to lowering prices volition beryllium to rebuild the cattle supply, a process that volition apt instrumentality respective years, Peel explained. Part of that effort volition necessitate redeeming pistillate cows, known arsenic heifers, for breeding, alternatively of sidesplitting them to conscionable user request for beef, Peel noted.

"We person record-high cattle prices, and we're going to proceed to until we regrow," helium said.

Edited by Alain Sherter

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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