The Trump administration’s simmering beef with American cattle ranchers continued this past weekend following Donald Trump’s announcement of a massive new investment in Argentina’s meat market.
One of the biggest storylines last fall and winter was the bipartisan backlash Trump and his administration received as they showered Argentina and its pro-MAGA president, Javier Milei, with U.S. tax dollars and commitments to purchase Argentinian beef. This was all part of a transparent effort to prop up Milei’s government as it faced growing backlash over its destructive, poverty-inducing economic agenda. And unsurprisingly, many American ranchers — a group that has largely voted in Trump’s favor over the years — didn’t take too kindly to the idea of the self-described “America First” president bailing out one of their biggest competitors as the president’s trade war undercuts American industries.
So it almost goes without saying that the executive order Trump signed last week authorizing the United States to quadruple its imports of Argentinian beef isn’t going over all that well either, including among pro-Trump voices.
Nebraska Republican Sen. Deb Fischer denounced the plan in a statement Friday.
“Instead of imports that sideline American ranchers, we should be focused on solutions that cut red tape, lower production costs, and support growing our cattle herd,” she said.
Rep. Don Bacon, her fellow Nebraska Republican, condemned the executive order as well.
Multiple cattle ranchers told Fox News they don’t think Trump’s executive order bringing in tons of Argentinian beef is a long-term solution that will help their industry, even if it does lower prices in the short term.
Even the Trump-aligned National Cattleman’s Beef Association, a trade group that celebrated Trump’s election win in 2024, offered criticism of the plan — albeit couched in some pro-Trump flattery.
“While we fundamentally disagree with the premise that increased imports can lower beef prices, NCBA is encouraged to see the Trump administration take necessary steps to address longstanding market-access challenges for U.S. beef in Argentina,” the organization’s executive director of international trade told Fox.
The executive director, Kent Backus, also raised potential health concerns about the imported beef, claiming that “without increased inspection protocols and up-to-date audits,” the imports “could place American consumers and our cattle herd at unnecessary risk.”
The CEO of R-CALF USA, a cattle ranchers’ trade group, endorsed Trump’s economic policies — including his tariffs — when Trump was president-elect in 2024.
But the organization has been posting and reposting tweets bashing the beef import plan since it was announced last week.
“Previous administrations have similarly invited increased beef imports with the same expectation that increasing imports would lower consumer beef prices,” the organization wrote. “In practice consumer beef prices were not reduced but instead, increased imports correlated with the shrinking of the U.S. cattle herd, the exodus of U.S. cattle farmers and ranchers, and higher consumer beef prices.”
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.