February 9, 2025 – The United States has finalized a deal with Argentina that is expected to more than quadruple beef imports from the South American country, acting on plans floated in October that received pushback from U.S. cattle producers.

On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to increase Argentine beef imports by 80,000 tons, for a total of 100,000 tons, for an estimated $800 million increase in imports.

The move is aimed at lowering the cost of beef for American consumers. But when it was first discussed in October, it received pushback from Republicans and U.S. cattle ranchers, who are currently selling domestic beef at relatively high prices due to challenges in the market.

“Instead of imports that sideline American ranchers, we should be focused on solutions that cut red tape, lower production costs, and support growing our cattle herd,” Senator Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska) said in a statement following the executive order.

Shortly before Trump signed the order, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urged cattle producers to increase the size of their herds. Speaking to beef industry stakeholders in Nashville at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) CattleCon, Kennedy cited a decline in herd size since the 1970s and said many ranchers are slaughtering breeding cows due to market fluctuations.

“I’d ask you to stop doing that,” Kennedy said. “We need a lot of beef, and we want to make it here in America. We don’t want to be importing it from other countries.” (Link to this post.)

The post Trump Signs Executive Order Boosting Argentine Beef Imports appeared first on Civil Eats.

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