Trump signed two beef executive orders today. Ranchers are already furious.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The average pound of ground beef at American grocery stores costs $6.70 today — up $1.15 since Trump returned to office in January 2025, and up 12.1% from just a year ago. Beef is now more than 16% more expensive than when he took office, and it is one of the only major grocery categories that has not come down.

On Monday, Trump signed two executive orders attempting to change that. The first — a temporary suspension of the tariff-rate quota on imported beef — allows Brazil, Australia, Argentina, and other major exporters to ship larger volumes of beef into the United States at lower duty rates. The second directs the Small Business Administration to expand loans for domestic cattle ranchers and rolls back certain federal regulations, including Endangered Species Act protections for gray and Mexican wolves and USDA electronic ear-tag requirements for livestock.

The logic is straightforward. The US cattle herd has shrunk to its lowest level in 75 years — the result of drought, pandemic-era economics, and the slow generational math of rebuilding a herd that takes years to reconstitute. When domestic supply falls, prices rise. When tariffs make imports expensive, prices stay high even when foreign supply is available. Suspending the tariff quota allows more foreign beef to fill the gap while domestic ranchers rebuild.

The problem is that Trump has tried versions of this before. In October 2025, he waived tariff-rate quotas specifically on Argentine beef. In November, he removed a 40% punitive tariff on Brazilian beef. Beef prices continued to climb throughout both measures — up $1.15 per pound overall since the first Argentina action. Imports are already at record levels: the dollar value of US beef imports hit $13.75 billion in 2025, up nearly $2.5 billion from 2024, and 2026 is on pace to break that record again.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/trump-signed-two-beef-executive-orders-today-ranchers-are-already-furious/ar-AA22ZUQE

He wants a cheap source for Trump steaks

[Walleye]

1. He is a moron, who doesn't understand anything and believes he knows everything

And he makes changes on a whim. This is the kind of thing we should expect from ignorance. What did he think he was punishing them for when he put the tariff on in the first place?

[Fiendish Thingy]

2. Whoopsie!

There goes Iowa, Montana, Texas…

Looks like we’re gonna take back the senate folks.

[misanthrope]

3. Keep going, Donnie Two Scoops!

You're a genius, after all.