Trump slashes tariffs to flood U.S. with 661 million pounds of foreign beef — Nebraska ranchers push back

In March 2026, President Donald Trump touted the value of American beef , saying he wanted to make it easier for Americans to buy U.S.-made beef. But in recent months, his administration has clashed with ranches and farms extensively.

Beef prices in the U.S. have skyrocketed from an average of $4.47 per pound in August 2021 to $6.92 in August 2026.

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The Trump administration has responded by drastically cutting tariffs on imported beef , allowing 300,000 metric tons — or 661 million pounds — into the U.S. It promises the beef will be sold at 25% below market prices.

That might seem reassuring next time you're at the grocery store, but for food inspection experts and American ranchers , this has been a worrying development.

And for voters in Nebraska, where the cattle industry was worth $11.43 billion in 2025 , it could help sway a competitive House race to the left.

For ranchers across the U.S., it has been a dry, difficult year.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor , 57% of American cattle are in locations with moderate or greater drought, a 27% year-over-year growth.

The total amount of cattle in the U.S. has been declining for decades, with 86 million heads of cattle at the start of 2026 . That leaves ranchers with a difficult decision : Do they focus on increasing the size of their herd, or do they improve short-term profits by selling cattle?

America's constrained beef supply is complicated by the fact that the government is heavily pushing beef as a health food.

That's largely due to the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, spearheaded by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. On Jan. 11, 2026, the White House posted a photo of Kennedy on X with the caption "We are ending the war on protein."

Kennedy has extensively promoted beef, as well as beef tallow as a cooking fat. Doctors have raised concerns , saying that Kennedy is wrong about seed oils being dangerous and beef fat benign.