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Trump plans executive order on direct beef sales
Initiative aims to let ranchers reach consumers without major processors or middlemen
Cattle at an export/import livestock crossing in Santa Teresa, N.M. (Paul Ratje/Bloomberg)
Key Takeaways:
- President Donald Trump said Sept. 4 he would create a program allowing ranchers to sell products directly to consumers, bypassing major processors.
- The initiative seeks to lower beef prices after Trump’s reduced tariffs on 300,000 tons of imported ground beef angered U.S. producers.
- Trump said he would sign an executive order establishing the program and require country-of-origin labels on all imported beef.
President Donald Trump said he was creating a program to help farmers and ranchers “process their own food,” a move aimed at addressing the high cost of beef by taking aim at major meat processors.
“We’re creating a program where small and medium-sized and large ranchers can sell their products directly to consumers, so that they don’t have to go through the big four processes and middlemen,” Trump said Sept. 4 in the Oval Office, adding that “they’re not going to be happy when they hear this.” The president said he would sign an executive order setting up the initiative.
The actions are the president’s latest moves intended to ease high food costs, a major irritant for voters who have given Trump poor marks for his handling of the economy ahead of November’s midterm elections for control of Congress. But some of those actions have angered farmers and ranchers, a key constituency in battleground states.
For example, Trump last month said he would allow up to 300,000 tons of ground beef imports to enter the country at lower tariff rates. Industry figures said such a move would undercut U.S. producers.
Trump also said he was signing a directive that would “require country of origin labeling across all foreign beef,” in a move aimed at appeasing ranchers angered by the White House’s plan to boost foreign imports.
He also said he was authorizing ranchers to protect rural communities and cattle from “predatory Mexican gray wolves,” which he said cost them tens of millions of dollars and endangered not only herds but people.
Trump in recent weeks had signaled that he intended to take action to target federal regulations on beef processing, addressing a long-standing complaint from independent ranchers. The Agriculture Department earlier this week eased regulations for ranchers and small meat processors.
