TULSA, Okla. — If you’ve noticed higher beef prices at the grocery store lately, you’re not alone. President Donald Trump recently suggested the United States could begin buying more beef from Argentina to help bring those prices down.
“We’ve heard quite a bit from our membership, saying, ‘This is not what we need. What is the president thinking? You know, why is he doing this? What’s going on?’ A lot of different questions that you get in those types of scenarios, but we’ve been in communication with our congressional delegation,” said Michael Kelsey, Executive Vice President of the OCA. “We’ve been in communication with our National Association, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, feeding that information to them — which they have direct access to the White House — to let the president know, let Secretary Rollins know, this is not a good idea. Please don’t do this. Let the markets work. Let us work with consumers, and we’ll figure out where that price will need to be by letting the market work.”
Kelsey said the proposal could hurt U.S. cattle producers.
“We already import beef from Argentina, and in fact, that import-export balance is off,” Kelsey said. “We import more than they import from us, and so it’s already unfair in that sense. If he wants to lower the price of beef, that’s a direct assault on ranchers because that would mean lowering the price of cattle.
Kelsey said demand for American beef is at a 40-year high and that ranchers are benefitting from strong consumer support.
“We’re very appreciative to the American consumer for purchasing our product, for staying loyal to American beef, and we certainly want to continue that,” said Kelsey.
Beyond the economic concerns, Kelsey said there are health and safety risks tied to increased imports. Argentina continues to manage cases of foot-and-mouth disease, a highly contagious virus that affects livestock.
“We don’t want to inadvertently bring something in here that would impact the health of our animals,” said Kelsey. “We don’t wish Argentina any ill, but we don’t want to import that disease into our country.
Kelsey urged ranchers to stay the course, saying the cattle market is currently strong and functioning well without government interference.
“Beef cattle prices are high, consumers are demanding our product, they love our product,” said Kelsey. “We’re passing that message on to the president; don’t mess with the beef market right now.”
He said the OCA is in communication with Oklahoma’s congressional delegation and national cattle industry leaders to make sure Trump and Agriculture Secretary Rollins understand their opposition to the idea.
