The move prompted blowback from cattle ranchers and Republicans who represent them.
President Trump will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported into the United States with lower tariffs over the next 90 days, he said in a social media post Friday morning, a bid to lower the cost of a staple food for Americans pinched by higher prices.
The beef will be imported with “no out of quota tariff” and sold 25 percent below the current market price, which is $6.89 per pound, he said.
The president provided almost no details about how his plan would work, but the news seemed to surprise and anger ranchers. He did not say which countries the beef would come from, where it would be sold or how it would be discounted 25 percent.
A White House official said the president would sign an executive order to remove the tariffs within the next two weeks. In exchange for the tariff relief, the president had secured a deal with foreign beef exporters to provide a 25 percent discount, he said.
The official did not specify which foreign exporters he was referring to, or which country the beef was from.
“This action, during a time of record high demand for beef, will help address the affordability of beef, after our nation’s cattle supply fell to its lowest level in 75 years under the Biden administration,” the Agriculture Department said.
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