Beef and America's cattle ranchers are no longer on MAGA's menu

[marmar]

Beef and America’s cattle ranchers are no longer on MAGA’s menu
Trump's plan to quadruple Argentinian beef imports has upset American ranchers — and the GOP

By Garrett Owen
National Affairs Fellow
Published November 7, 2025 6:30AM (EST)


(Salon) As President Donald Trump‘s trade policies continue to hurt farmers across the country, and with government relief a polarizing possibility for soybean farmers and the administration alike, a red line might have finally been crossed for many of his MAGA supporters.

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It was the sight of blood that got them queasy — specifically the medium-rare steak that could be coming to their plates from Argentina, not Texas, Nebraska or any other American state.

....(snip)....

After giving $20 billion to Argentina, and with another $20 billion on the way, the prospect of buying beef from the nation that is making a killing by selling its soybeans to China is an insult to the injury of Trump’s policies that apparently cannot be stomached by American cattle ranchers — or even by conservatives on Capitol Hill.

In an interview with Semafor on Oct. 22, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., defended Trump for trying to “drive down beef prices.” But after providing the initial mandatory praise, Thune quickly broke from the president’s plan to flood the market with cheap Argentine beef. “This isn’t the way to do it,” he said. “It’s created a lot of uncertainty in that market. So I’m hoping that the White House has gotten the message.” ...................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/11/07/beef-and-americas-cattle-ranchers-are-no-longer-on-magas-menu/

[Diamond_Dog]

1. So Argentinian beef comes into this country for our consumption without being inspected?

I’m so glad we swore off red meat at my house.

[Submariner]

2. When on business travel

living on the expense account, the team would eat at the 'Restaurante Rincón Argentino' when working in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It was really good steak, and would likely give some U.S. 5-star steak restaurants some competition, pissing off maganazis.

[ret5hd]

3. hey maga!!! get you some american made tofu...

help your local soy farmer out!!!

[Bobstandard]

6. Good one! nt

[RazorbackExpat]

4. Interestingly, I just bought some American beef in Japan

Wagyu-style Angus beef, at a deep discount. Originally priced at 1000 yen for 300 grams (about $10/lb), I got it at half price

[Bobstandard]

5. I think I've seen evidence of ranchers turning on trump

I drive I-90 in Washington a couple or three times a year. Between Cle Elum and Ellensburg there are some picture perfect cattle ranches. The kind with great sweeping meadows rising up to stands of noble pines. You can almost hear the theme song to The Ponderosa as you drive by.

The only blot on the landscape was a bunch of really big trump signs fronting the highway along side another sign that said “Cattle Ranchers Feed America”. Or maybe it says, “Cattle Ranchers Feed Your Family.”

The “Cattle Ranchers Feed” sign is still there but the trump signs are conspicuously gone.

[Igel]

7. I keep hearing two narratives.

Mostly from the same sources.

1. It's pointless, the Argentine beef imports are a drop in the bucket and it's all PR and hogwash, it won't reduce prices by more than a few cents. Cue experts.

2. It's a catastrophe, the Argentine beef imports will swamp the market and severely reduce American beef prices. Cue experts.

Both cannot be right (albeit both could be wrong).

At least they're not the same experts in both queues, so at least the experts seem (on the face of it) to have some integrity.