ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — President Donald Trump recently announced plans to increase beef imports from Argentina, which he says will help lower beef prices. One Asheville butchery owner says that while increasing imports from Argentina will make beef cheaper for consumers, it will also hurt local producers.
PJ Jackson, co-owner of the Chop Shop Butchery in Asheville, said the United States is now set to pay Argentinian farmers less than what North American farmers need to get by, so they’re bringing in a cheaper and leaner product. Jackson says this will hurt producers, ranchers, growers and finishers here in the United States.
LOCAL BUSINESSES IN ASHEVILLE FACE PRICE HIKES AS FEDERAL TARIFF EXEMPTIONS ARE ELIMINATED
“It’s going to hurt them because at that point, the volume and the accessibility of the meat across the board is going to be higher, which makes their higher quality meat, more expensive meat, less desirable in the consumer’s eyes,” Jackson explained.
Jamie Ager, CEO of Hickory Nut Gap, also believes increasing Argentinian imports will have an impact on the U.S. beef market. But, he says, it is hard to tell what that effect will be.
Ager says it could impact Hickory Nut Gap in the long run, but not immediately. He says governmental interference, such as the Argentinian imports and recent tariffs placed on cattle imports, creates instability in the industry and makes it difficult to operate in those conditions.
‘POURING SALT IN A WOUND’: BUSINESS OWNERS WORRIED TARIFFS WILL FORCE THEM TO RAISE PRICES
“Tariffs have definitely caused beef prices to go up a little bit,” said Ager.
While one of the goals for these tariffs is to shift production to the United States, Jack Igelman, an economics instructor at Warren Wilson College, says placing tariffs on a country increases the demand for that product. This, in turn, increases the price everywhere, including the United States.
“While a tariff may be intended to penalize a particular country, it has a broader impact, and it does penalize consumers of those products and even our domestic producers, potentially,” said Igelman.