Trump defends tariffs to cattle ranchers, calls for lower prices

President Trump on Wednesday sent a message to cattle ranchers defending his tariff policies and urging American ranchers to lower their prices.

“The Cattle Ranchers, who I love, don’t understand that the only reason they are doing so well, for the first time in decades, is because I put Tariffs on cattle coming into the United States, including a 50% Tariff on Brazil,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “If it weren’t for me, they would be doing just as they’ve done for the past 20 years — Terrible!” 

“It would be nice if they would understand that, but they also have to get their prices down, because the consumer is a very big factor in my thinking, also!” he added.

Trump has imposed steep tariffs on imports from Brazil, which is a major exporter of beef to the U.S.

The president’s post came as he has faced pushback from some Republican senators for his proposal that the U.S. could import beef from Argentina to boost the South American nation’s economy.

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and others have argued that importing beef will hurt domestic cattle ranchers.

Fischer warned that importing beef from Argentina would not be the best way to lower prices for American consumers, and it would hurt U.S. ranchers.

“Nebraska’s ranchers cannot afford to have the rug pulled out from under them when they’re just getting ahead or simply breaking even,” she wrote online Tuesday. “I strongly encourage the Trump administration to focus on trade deals that benefit our [agricultural] producers—not imports that will do more harm than good.”

Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the agency would be providing more than $3 billion in assistance to farmers who have been hurt amid a trade dispute with China, which has stopped buying products like soybeans from American farmers.