President Trump says the United States may buy beef from Argentina to bring beef prices down for consumers here. Bill Bullard is CEO of R-CALF USA, the largest trade group for cattle producers. He says the president’s attention is welcome because the cattle market in this country has been broken for decades.
Bullard says importing more beef into the country is absolutely the wrong thing to do right now.
Bullard says the Trump Administration needs to focus on concentration in the meat packing industry. Four companies are buying 85% of the cattle that are slaughtered in the United States, plus the Food Industry Association says meat sales in mega-retailers like Walmart are growing, while the amount of meat sold in local grocery stores is falling.
Bullard says Trump could help cattle producers by placing a quota on imported beef and impose higher tariffs on beef imports once that quota is reached.
