Grab a coffee, because this one has layers. On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump appeared on conservative host Glenn Beck's program and dropped a headline: he will look into whether meat processing plants in the United States are over-regulated. The comment came after Beck suggested that fewer rules would let farmers and ranchers slaughter their own cattle instead of relying on the big packers.
Trump did not hide his feelings about the industry. "That could be a great thing for the ranchers," he said during the interview. "I've only heard bad things about it, it's four companies, and it's a monopoly." He was referring to Cargill, Tyson Foods, JBS USA and National Beef Packing Co., which together control about 85% of US beef processing. Two of those companies, JBS USA and National Beef, are controlled by Brazilian meatpackers JBS and MBRF.
The distrust is not new. Last year the US Department of Justice said it was investigating whether packers were illegally inflating beef prices for consumers, a probe that helps explain why the industry's structure has become a political flashpoint for Trump.
The save the hamburger plan
Last week, before this interview, Trump had already said he plans to temporarily cut tariffs on some beef imports to try to bring down prices, which are at record highs in the US. According to him, for the next 90 days the country will allow the import of up to 300,000 tons of beef destined for ground beef production without tariffs beyond the quota. The idea, he said, is for that meat to reach shelves 25% cheaper than what Americans currently pay.
Not everyone is on board. The plan drew criticism from American agriculture groups, chiefly the American Farm Bureau Federation, the industry's main lobby. Its president, Zippy Duvall, sent Trump a letter on Tuesday asking him to reconsider, arguing the move "will hurt... United States cattle producers, who work tirelessly to produce food for American families." Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters at the White House she did not even know which countries would be included in the president's announcement.
All this fuss traces back to the grocery bill. Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, cited by Brazilian outlet G1, shows a pound of ground beef hit $6.82 in June, 79% above the level recorded in early 2019. That squeeze on American shoppers is what sits at the center of this back and forth between the White House, meatpackers and cattle ranchers. For Brazilian readers unfamiliar with the term, JBS and MBRF are two of the country's largest meat exporters, and their US operations are now caught up in Washington's tariff and antitrust debates.
Anyone who wants to follow this tariff saga as it unfolds can catch Trump's original interview on The Glenn Beck Program, broadcast live on BlazeTV and syndicated radio stations across the US, with a podcast version available shortly after it airs.