US President Donald Trump signed an order Friday to allow more Argentine beef imports into the United States, a move aimed at cooling climbing prices of the staple meat as affordability worries grow.
But the decision could draw alarm from the agriculture and livestock sector, which previously warned that buying more from Argentina undercuts American family farmers and ranchers.
Friday's order raises the quota of beef allowed into the United States under preferential tariff treatment by 80,000 metric tons.
This applies to lean beef trimmings, which are blended with fattier ones to make ground beef products like hamburgers, the document added.
The aim is to raise the supply of ground beef for US consumers. The quotas will be administered over 2026.
Trump's proclamation noted that costs have been growing for various reasons, such as drought and lower imports from Mexico due to a pest in herds there.
Beef and veal prices were up 16.4 percent from a year ago in December 2025, government data showed, and are predicted to keep increasing as the US cattle herd size remains its smallest in decades.
The cost of ground beef rose to an average of around US$6.70 per pound in December, the highest since the US Department of Labor started tracking such costs.
All this has added to budget pressures US households are facing. Cost-of-living issues are seen as a contributing factor to losses by Trump's Republican Party in several high-profile elections late last year.
In November, Trump said he had asked the US Justice Department to investigate the meatpacking industry over high beef prices, as he faced mounting political pain over the issue.
– TIMES/AFP
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