Trump to sign executive order quadrupling beef imports from Argentina

Washington — President Trump is expected to sign an executive order Friday that quadruples the amount of beef imported into the U.S. from Argentina under a new trade agreement with the South American country, according to a senior administration official.

Argentina's Foreign Ministry wrote in a statement that the new agreement, which was signed Thursday, will "grant an unprecedented expansion of preferential access for Argentine beef to its market by 100,000 tons," representing an increase of "$800 million in Argentine beef exports." 

The administration official told CBS News that expanding imports is part of an effort to lower beef costs for consumers.

The cost of beef has soared over the past several years, peaking at $6.68 per pound in December, according to the Federal Reserve. That is the highest level beef prices have reached since the Department of Labor started tracking prices in 1984.

But the main group representing American cattle ranchers has said the increase in imports is a "misguided effort" and will damage the "livelihoods of American cattlemen and women, while doing little to impact the price consumers are paying at the grocery store."

In a statement in October, when plans for expanding imports were first reported, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association said it "cannot stand behind the President while he undercuts the future of family farmers and ranchers by importing Argentinian beef in an attempt to influence prices."

"It is imperative that President Trump and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins let the cattle markets work," said Colin Woodall, the group's CEO. 

President Trump previously prodded cattle ranchers to "get their prices down" in an effort to bring relief to consumers. 

"The Cattle Ranchers, who I love, don't understand that the only reason they are doing so well, for the first time in decades, is because I put Tariffs on cattle coming into the United States," Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social in October. "If it weren't for me, they would be doing just as they've done for the past 20 years — Terrible! It would be nice if they would understand that." 

Under the new trade agreement, the U.S. plans to remove reciprocal tariffs on a variety of goods from Argentina, including pharmaceutical ingredients, and review other tariffs on steel and aluminum.  

The trade deal could be a significant boost for Argentine President Milei, a key ally of Mr. Trump's.

"The deepening partnership between President Trump and President Milei serves as a model of how countries in the Americas, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, can advance our shared ambitions and safeguard our economic and national security," U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said.