Beef has reached a record-high national average of $6.92 a pound, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and as more Americans feel the pinch in their wallets, the Trump administration is trying to step in and bring costs down.
According to the White House, last month, President Donald Trump issued a temporary order, effective September 1, expanding lower-tariff access for 300,000 metric tons of imported lean beef trimmings and increasing the amount of beef available on the market.
While the order is being made to help herds rebuild their stock of cattle, it didn’t land well among the ranching community, with The Washington Post reporting that both ranches and agricultural groups are frustrated over the 80-year-old president’s decision to lift tariffs on hundreds of millions of pounds of foreign beef.
And though bringing cheaper foreign beef to the market is a plus for the average grocery shopper, it also pushes cattle prices down, deterring American ranchers who need stronger prices to justify rebuilding the herd.
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Amid the backlash, the Trump administration signed two more executive orders on September 4, aimed at targeting challenges facing American ranchers at home, with the goal of strengthening the domestic beef industry while increasing competition in the market.
The orders aim to cut red tape, allow more state-inspected meat to cross state lines and support smaller and regional processors, while modernizing inspections and giving ranchers more options to process and sell their beef.
On September 16, the USDA took another step towards easing the regulations ranchers in the U.S. face, announcing plans to help states launch or expand their own meat-inspection programs.
But the measures are no guarantee that beef prices will fall at the grocery store. While increasing supply and processing capacity could bring costs down, the move comes at a time when Americans are also dealing with a major food-safety crisis.
Just this summer alone, there have been a host of foodborne illness outbreaks, including E. Coli, Listeria, Salmonella and more, with the FDA issuing recalls that raise questions about how to expand food production and competition while maintaining the safety standards consumers have relied on for years.
This story How the Trump Administration Is Trying to Bring Down the Cost of Beef as Meat Reaches a Record High first appeared on First For Money. Follow First For Money on Yahoo so you don’t miss what’s coming next.