The president did not say who the contract was with or where the ground beef came from.
Published August 21, 2026
US President Donald Trump has announced that up to 300,000 tonnes of ground beef will be allowed to be imported without increased tariffs for the next three months, in a move aimed at lowering prices for household staples.
On Friday, President Trump posted on social media that he had struck a deal that would “significantly lower” the price of ground meat for Americans.
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“We have a promise to sell this beef 25% below the current market price,” President Trump wrote on his TruthSocial account. “This agreement will lower prices for Americans while giving the Great American Cattle Herd room to grow again.”
Typically, after the United States imports a certain amount of beef, high tariff rates are applied to beef exporting countries.
Trump did not say which countries had made the deal or which companies had agreed to sell the beef at below-market prices.
Asked for details by Al Jazeera, a White House official said Trump would formally sign the executive order “within the next two weeks.”
“In exchange for this tariff relief, President Trump has entered into agreements with foreign beef exporters that provide U.S. consumers with a 25% discount on beef exports,” the official added.
President Trump also tried to shift the blame for soaring beef prices onto his predecessor, former President Joe Biden. Former President Biden left the White House in January 2025, but President Trump has frequently blamed the continued inflation in the United States.
“As everyone knows, under President Biden, beef prices rose at their fastest rate and the U.S. beef herd fell to its smallest size in modern history,” Trump wrote.
When President Trump returned to the White House, the price of ground beef was $5.55 for a pound (453.6 grams), according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. As of July, its price had risen to $6.89, an increase of 24% since Trump took office and 10% since last July.
The president’s announcement comes ahead of crucial midterm elections this November, in which rising prices are expected to be a key factor for voters.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released this month found that Democrats (35%) lead Republicans (27%) by 8 points as the party most trusted when it comes to paying for living expenses. The poll also found that Trump had a 23% approval rating on the cost of living, but a lower approval rating of 22% on his response to inflation.
US ranchers oppose
U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana, one of Trump’s leading Republican allies, criticized Trump’s announcement, saying it would hurt ranching families and American agricultural organizations.
“I have been advising President Trump for a year to oppose this course of action because America’s ranchers have been fighting the packer monopoly for decades and this will further harm them, most of whom are MAGA Republicans,” Sheehy wrote to X.
The Trump administration has struggled to reduce beef costs, which have remained high throughout his second term. Al Jazeera reports that rising cattle prices are making beef more expensive for U.S. consumers, largely because herd numbers are at their lowest since the 1950s.
Other factors limiting supply include President Trump’s tariffs on imported beef, the closure of the U.S.-Mexico border over concerns related to screwworm disease, and the raising of live cattle.
Last October, the White House promoted the purchase of additional Argentinian beef, but this prompted opposition from U.S. ranching and farming organizations, who argued that it would harm them.
