Republican lawmakers and ranchers oppose beef import plan
Joesley Batista, the billionaire who shares control of meatpacking giant JBS, met with President Trump in the Oval Office on Aug. 20 and discussed how additional Brazilian beef could ease U.S. consumer prices if Trump dropped a 26% import tax, according to people familiar with the meeting. The next day, Trump announced on social media a plan to temporarily allow more foreign beef imports into the United States at a 25% discount to market prices.
The day after the meeting, the Brazilian government said President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva held an 80-minute call with Trump that touched on tariffs, combating organized crime, and the leaders’ views on current global conflicts. It could not be learned who organized the Batista-Trump meeting. Brazil is the world’s largest producer of beef.
Trump’s plan calls for up to 300,000 metric tons of lean beef trimmings to be imported into the U.S. over a 90-day period without a tariff — roughly 2% of the nation’s annual beef consumption. A larger supply of lean meat from South America could temporarily lower prices for ground beef sold at grocery stores and fast-food restaurants. Analysts said the imports could also discourage ranchers from rebuilding their cattle herds, prolonging a supply shortage that has driven beef prices to record highs.
The announcement helped send cattle prices down. Feeder cattle futures are down about 9% over the past month, according to FactSet.
The plan drew strong rebukes from Republican lawmakers and industry groups who said it would hurt ranchers. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the largest trade group for cattle ranchers, said government intervention will only hurt ranchers and prevent long-term stability in the beef industry.
Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson, the Senate GOP nominee in her state, called the plan a bad idea. Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts, who is running for re-election, said on X that “short term policy shifts do not equal long term solutions.” Both Republicans are competing in midterm contests in states with significant rural constituencies.
JBS has played a key role in helping shape Trump administration views even before the recent announcement. Pilgrim’s Pride, the nation’s second-largest chicken processor and majority controlled by JBS, contributed $5 million to Trump’s inauguration, making it the largest donor. JBS has said that it has a long history of participating in the civic process and creating opportunities to provide safe, affordable food for American families.
The Justice Department is investigating the top four U.S. meatpackers — including JBS — over whether the companies are engaged in anticompetitive behavior. The companies have denied any wrongdoing. Tyson Foods and JBS have closed plants after losing hundreds of millions of dollars processing beef.
For JBS, importing more of its Brazilian product into the U.S. would give the meatpacker a bigger share of the American market. Brazil sent about $1.5 billion worth of beef to the U.S. through the first six months of this year, up 10% from the year prior, according to Agriculture Department data.
JBS began as a family-owned slaughterhouse in the Brazilian countryside and has since expanded to become one of the largest beef processors in both the U.S. and Brazil, employing about 280,000 people in more than 20 countries. Last year, the company listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
Joesley Batista and his brother Wesley Batista are currently board members and major shareholders of JBS. The brothers were nearly sidelined after a corruption scandal in Brazil almost a decade ago, in which they admitted to bribing politicians and spent several months in jail. They separately settled U.S. corruption charges. The company has said it now has a robust compliance program and that the brothers bring decades of operational experience.
The import plan comes in response to a continuing shortage of cattle on American pastures. In May, the Trump administration floated a plan to suspend a tariff-rate quota applied to beef-exporting nations. That earlier proposal was put on hold following an outcry from ranchers, administration officials including Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, and some congressional Republicans.
The Trump administration has taken several other actions to try to lower beef prices. It has announced plans to provide funding to boost smaller meatpacking operations. The Agriculture Department said in July it would reopen ports along the U.S.-Mexico border that had been closed to stem the spread of New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite. Meatpacking executives have said resuming the cattle trade was the fastest way to potentially lower beef prices.