Trump suggested buying Argentine beef. Here’s how U.S. cattle ranchers reacted

If President Donald Trump has his way, it might take much longer for the cows to come home, especially if they’re traveling all the way up from the Southern Hemisphere.

Trump said the administration is considering buying beef from Argentina to bring down beef prices in America.

“To get beef prices down — the only price we have that’s high is beef and we’ll get that down — and one of the things we’re thinking about doing is beef from Argentina," he said to a gaggle of reporters aboard Air Force One over the weekend.

“Everything is down. The one thing that’s kept up is beef. And if we buy some beef — and I’m not talking about that much — from Argentina, it would help Argentina, who we consider a very good country, good ally."

The comments were received poorly by the beef cattle industry with several ranchers and multiple large trade organizations publicly voicing opposition to the idea.

For Meriwether Farms, a cattle ranch based in Wheatland, Wyoming, the suggestion was deeply upsetting. It wrote a kind, albeit blistering letter to the president and posted it on social media.

“Dear @POTUS Trump, We love you and support you— but your suggestion to buy beef from Argentina to stabilize beef prices would be an absolute betrayal to the American cattle rancher," read the letter.

“The American cattle rancher is one of the last symbols of independence we have in the nation — but the continued manipulation and betrayal by the very people who claim to support them, needs to end immediately.”

Even Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, weighed in. He said Monday on the radio show AgriTalk that, “the president ought to keep his mouth shut about beef prices.”

Why buy from Argentina?

Trump’s comments came amid scrutiny over his administration’s decision to prop up Argentina’s struggling currency. It offered the country a $20 billion dollar line of credit and has invested in its peso, while, at the same time, the U.S. government is shut down and there are many who would benefit from the same governmental support.

Argentine President Javier Milei and Trump are outwardly supportive of each other and have similar beliefs about how to run a government.

Milei is a fierce libertarian who believes that strict austerity is the best way to govern. He has made Argentina a test case for what might be possible with the bare minimum of governmental spending.

It was he who gave Elon Musk the customized chainsaw that became ubiquitous with the efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year. The chainsaw is a symbol of Milei’s economic agenda, which is to cut as much government spending as possible.

For the first year-and-a-half of Milei’s presidency, the results were promising. Even The New York Times said “he appeared on the brink of achieving an economic miracle.”

Then the economy came crashing down as investors fled Argentina amid concerns that the country was not able to pay its substantial debt, prompting Trump to step in.

But none of that is a priority for the National Cattleman’s Beef Association, a marketing and trade organization representing 175,000 cattlemen who have gone on the offensive about the mere idea of injecting more Argentinian beef into the U.S. market.

“NCBA’s family farmers and ranchers have numerous concerns with importing more Argentinian beef to lower prices for consumers,” Colin Woodall, the association’s CEO said in a statement. “This plan only creates chaos at a critical time of the year for American cattle producers, while doing nothing to lower grocery store prices.”

What’s going on with beef prices?

Trump’s remarks that all prices have come down is not exactly true, according to Department of Agriculture data. The rate of rising prices on consumer goods has decreased overall, but consumer food prices have outpaced inflation since the administration change this past January.

Even so, beef prices are still an outlier. As of this summer, beef prices reached the highest price they’ve ever been since data was first collected in the 1980s. They’ve also just about doubled in the last 10 years.

Overall, food prices are up just shy of 4% since this time last year. While, in the same period, ground beef has gone up 12%, with all other cuts going up 8%.

The factors driving those rising costs are many, with some calling the current circumstances a “perfect storm.”

One major implication is climate change influenced drought, another is the fact that the country’s herds are just smaller overall. Those diminished herds are not a match for an ever increasing demand from the public, too.

Aftershocks from the pandemic market persist, as do influences from industry consolidation — 85% of the business is owned by four companies. But the global beef market also plays a role.

Recent imports are not massive, but representing 13% or 14% of beef production they are greater than they’ve ever been, said David Anderson, a livestock economist at Texas A&M University.

According to Drovers, a journal covering the American beef market, Argentina ranks 9th on the list of beef importers to the U.S., representing about 2% of all beef coming into the country in 2025. Drovers also found that Argentine beef imports are up over 40% from 2024-2025.

“We understand beef prices are high, and we admire your concern for all Americans, but this is not the fault of the American producer,” reads the Meriwether letter.

“Washington for decades has facilitated the squeezing of our own ranchers while allowing (foreign importers) to flood the market with cheaper, lower-quality imports — and the American people don’t even know these products are foreign because they are allowed to be marked as ‘Product of the USA.’”

The ranch is referencing a now-updated law that allowed beef cattle raised in another country to be labelled as a “product of the USA” if it was later slaughtered and butchered in America.

The USDA changed the rule in March 2024 under the Biden administration, but it does not go into effect until 2026. As of today, beef from Argentina could show up on shelves at the grocery store as if the cattle were born and raised in the United States.

To which point, Woodall pointed out that the U.S. already has quite a bit of Argentine beef on its shelves.

“Argentina has a deeply unbalanced trade relationship with the U.S. In the past five years Argentina has sold more than $801 million of beef into the U.S. market. By comparison, the U.S. has sold just over $7 million worth of American beef to Argentina,” he said.

What happens now?

Whether or not the president’s comments will generate any policy changes or garner further trade between the U.S. and Argentina is not yet known. Trump made clear his support for the country but his remarks this past weekend have not yet materialized into anything other than media attention.

In the meantime, the ranchers laid bare how they understand the stakes of such rhetoric on their livelihood.

“While only representing 1% of the population, the work is tireless, daily, in poor conditions, with low margins, without thanks — all in order to keep this country fed. We would be a failed nation if we continue to betray the very people who put food on the table for us," reads the Meriwether letter.

“There are so many voices on the outside that support you and want to see you succeed. Maybe it’s time to start listening to them. Your team knows how to get in touch with us. Sincerely, Meriwether Farms”