The decision on duty-free beef imports sparked criticism from American farmers.

President Donald Trump has announced a 90-day duty-free import regime, under which up to 300,000 tons of ground beef will enter the US market. It is expected that this volume will be sold at prices 25% lower than current market indicators. At the same time, the suppliers of the products have not been officially named, which raises questions against the backdrop of concerns over the spread of the New World screwworm disease.

This move has triggered a negative reaction from industry representatives. Farmers point out that amid high production costs caused by rising prices for fuel, hay, and loan interest rates, the cattle sector was one of the few profitable segments of the agro-industrial complex. According to producers, an artificial increase in the supply of foreign meat will lead to a drop in the prices of feeder calves and cause long-term damage to the established production chain, while intermediaries are likely to reap the main benefit from the discount.

Industry experts and farmers themselves note that the current state of the sector is complicated by labor shortages caused by immigration raids and the proximity of the processing industry to monopoly conditions. Since the 1990s, about 80% of cattle purchases have been controlled by Tyson Foods, Cargill, JBS, and National Beef, which is already putting pressure on the incomes of agricultural producers.

Previously, the sector faced the consequences of tariff policies that restricted access to foreign markets: exports of soybeans and other commodities were redirected to Brazil and Argentina. In the current situation, producers emphasize that temporary administrative measures to reduce food costs do not solve fundamental problems in the supply chain and increase the financial burden on farms.