Iowa Cattlemen’s Association ‘disappointed’ with Trump’s decision to import ground beef
DES MOINES, Iowa —
Ground beef prices have risen 24% since January 2025, prompting President Donald Trump to announce a temporary tariff reduction on imported ground beef to ease costs for American families.
On Friday morning, Trump revealed that 300,000 metric tons of ground beef will be imported with lower tariffs over the next 90 days.
During a visit to the Iowa State Fair, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins explained the decision’s potential impact on consumers.
“We can get a 25% decrease for families. Usually, lower-income families rely on ground beef. He wanted to make that move for the American consumer,” Rollins said.
The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association expressed disappointment with the plan.
“Obviously we’re disappointed with that,” CEO Bryan Whaley said. “We talk about supporting our farmers and ranchers. But then you take some of their profitability away right away out of this by inserting a foreign product into our domestic market.”
Iowa farmers are already facing high input costs and low profit margins, compounded by the U.S. beef cattle supply being at a 75-year low. Rollins acknowledged these challenges but defended the move.
“I understand the decision and defend the decision and look forward to continuing to rebuild the herd, but making sure that we can continue to provide,” Rollins said.
While consumers may see lower ground beef prices in the coming months, Whaley warned that supply issues will remain.
“Even after this 90 days, we’re still going to have a short supply. We can’t turn that cowherd around in that short of a time period. And I think that’s one of the things I think people have to realize. It takes two, three years for us to get to that point where we’re going to be able to meet that demand,” Whaley said.