Trump to allow foreign beef to be imported with no tariffs attached

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - President Trump recently signed off on a plan to temporarily allow beef imports to come into the country with no tariffs attached.

The U.S. Cattle herd is currently at a 75-year low, putting beef prices up ten percent from last year. The Trump administration believes lifting the tariffs will help; however, a couple of ranchers Dakota News Now talked to are not sure consumers will see the impact.

South Dakota Farmers Union Vice President Jeff Kippley says personal experience tells him the big four meatpackers will likely absorb all the extra profits without the tariffs.

“The consumers pay too much for the beef, we get too little for our live cattle, and the profits are kept there in the middle. So that’s the risk: by lowering the input costs, does it reach the consumers? Or does it get stuck at the processor level?” Kippley wondered.

In a fact sheet, Trump blamed the small herd and high costs on the Biden administration for “pursuing radical climate activist policies that left farmers with historically high input costs.”

‘This isn’t the answer; the answer is let the marketplace work. If we are going to try to do something, what we’ve been fighting for for a long time is country of origin labeling, that gives consumers the right to know where their beef comes from,” Kippley said.

The imported beef will also be sold at a 25% discount from the import price. Wessington Springs rancher Scott Kolousek says what makes Country of Origin labeling so important for them to see passed is that it should help American ranchers make money, saying people have more trust in American beef products.

“If they’re going to bring in some cheap crap from South America and price it 25% less than the ground beef from America, that’s totally fine by me. Just make sure the customer knows this is from Brazil...This is from South Dakota.

Country of Origin labeling is in the Senate version of the farm bill, which has stalled in Congress.

This temporary lift on tariffs will last for 90 days, starting Tuesday.