President Donald Trump said Friday that he’s making a deal to bring down ground beef prices, without providing many details.
In a post on his Truth Social website, he said he would remove tariffs on up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef imports. “We have a commitment that this beef will be sold at 25 percent below current market prices,” Trump wrote.
The White House did not respond to questions about how this deal would work: Who will sell this cheaper beef, and why? Several supermarket brands and grocery trade groups did not respond to questions from The Washington Post or said they did not know anything about the deal.
Lifting tariffs won’t necessarily do much to reduce beef prices, since more than 80 percent of the beef Americans eat is raised domestically.
Trump is focused on ground beef because the price has soared, while other groceries that spiked in price during the high inflation of 2022 have leveled off. The average cost of a pound of ground beef in 75 U.S. cities was $6.89 last month, nearly double what it was in 2016. Ground beef now costs more per pound than bacon for the first time.
The rising cost of energy resulting from the war in Iran has contributed to climbing prices for several grocery items, including beef.
Demand for beef has been rising; red meat is currently in vogue. At the same time, the U.S. cattle herd has shrunk, contributing to higher prices.
Monday’s planned reopening of the feeder cattle trade with Mexico, closed for more than a year over concern about screwworm parasites, may eventually help support U.S. beef production. But agricultural economists say that won’t change the fundamental factors — reduced herd size and domestic production — driving the elevated prices.
Cat Zakrzewski and Rachel Lerman contributed to this report.
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