A decade ago, the United States imported less than half a million dollars' worth of beef products from Argentina. Since 2016, those imports have topped $1 billion.
Brazil, now a leading exporter of beef products to the U.S., also did not sell into the country before 2016. Since then, the country has surpassed long-term trade partners such as Japan, Honduras and Uruguay.
This shift has raised concerns among beef cattle ranchers, as the country relies more on South America for products while the national beef inventory is in freefall.
President Trump announced new federal trade policies on Feb. 6 that allow Argentina to send the country four times as much select beef as it already does, setting the country up for record growth in American markets. Cattle groups and elected officials have lambasted this decision.
“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,” said Deb Fisher, the Republican Senator representing Nebraska, in a statement.
United States Cattlemen’s Association president Justin Tupper said in a statement that the organization is concerned with the scale of the imports as well as verifying the origin of the imports.
“We must continue to focus on how we can rebuild our U.S. cattle herd,” he said. “Any trade agreement must be structured in a way that does not undermine U.S. cattle producers’ ability to compete and does not compromise the integrity of our supply.”
