by Paul Bradford
Americans face historic beef shortages that have propelled prices for consumers over recent years. The cost per pound of ground beef has risen by over 50% since 2021, from around an average price of $4 to over $6.30 in September 2025. Similarly, the average price of steak has increased from $8 to over $12 in the same timeframe.
Large cattle rancher corporations have profited from these price increases and criticized President Trump’s attempts to lower prices by importing beef from Argentina. While cattle ranchers have supported the president, these corporations have also opposed his policies by promoting amnesty. They have criticized the president’s crackdown on Haitian and Venezuelan workers, with around half of the meatpacking industry reliant on foreign-born workers. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has also advocated immigration reform through expansion of the H-2A visa program.
According to data from the Department of Agriculture, the US has had the lowest cattle inventory since 1951. Drought and disease have driven shortages. The market has also suffered from austere environmental regulations under the Obama and Biden administrations, including the 2015 Clean Water Rule, which has limited grazing access for farmers and regulatory burdens from climate initiatives in the Inflation Reduction Act. Additionally, imports have suffered as Mexico faces a screwworm outbreak.
Amid this record inflation, President Trump has taken efforts to reduce prices. The President wrote, “The cattle ranchers, who I love, don’t understand that the only reason they are doing so well, for the first time in decades, is because I put tariffs on cattle coming into the United States, including a 50% tariff on Brazil. If it weren’t for me, they would be doing just as they’ve done for the past 20 years—terrible! It would be nice if they would understand that, but they also have to get their prices down, because the consumer is a very big factor in my thinking, also!”
The President is correct to attribute rising profits to his policies. Despite a general trend of increasing beef prices in stores over the last 20 years, live cattle prices have budged at less than half that price, frustrating rural Americans. By lifting environmental regulations to provide more grazing lands, lowering interest rates from the Department of Agriculture, and providing further export markets through trade negotiations, the administration has sought to bolster domestic beef production. By imposing tariffs to shield domestic producers, the President also sought to aid the profitability of independent ranchers.
Leveraging his relationship with Argentina’s President Javier Milei, President Trump has quadrupled the quotas on Argentine beef, lifting strict environmental standards that have limited imports from the country in the past. This deal aims to both undercut the rise in prices with cheaper beef and redress domestic shortages. It also aids the ailing Argentinian economy, with Trump providing badly needed relief to a right-wing ally in Milei during an economic crisis. Despite the current hardship, Milei’s free market economic agenda continues to hold robust support among Argentinians. His party recently won a landslide victory in the midterm legislative elections.
Cattle ranchers have taken advantage of shortages by gouging prices. The Wall Street Journal reports that ranchers are hesitant to increase cattle supply to continue reaping the benefits of high prices. President Trump is now calling for cattle ranchers to reduce prices and focus on taking advantage of the favorable business environment for producers to increase supply. Trump is correct to seek to alleviate the rising costs to American families, who are now turning to meat alternatives such as chicken. Ultimately, the President’s strategy balances the protection of domestic producers while restoring price stability for American families at the grocery store.
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Paul Bradford is a Capitol Hill refugee now earning an honest living.
The post Commentary: Trump Is Right to Demand Lower Beef Prices for Consumers first appeared on The Arizona Sun Times.