Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins discusses the battle over authorities spending on ‘The Night Edit.’
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Tuesday mentioned that the U.S. is contemplating imports of beef from Argentina to cut back costs which have been at file highs this yr.
Rollins mentioned in an look on CNBC’s “Squawk Field” that the Trump administration is making ready to announce a plan to import beef from Argentina to assist improve the meat provide, as costs surged with cattle stock declining to the bottom degree in a long time.
“The president has talked about it a few instances, I feel you may be listening to extra about precisely what that appears like,” Rollins mentioned. “In America, we eat about 12 million metric tons of beef, 10 million of that we produce right here in America, however the 2 million I am speaking about we have been offshoring.”
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on July 15, 2025. (Reuters)
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Rollins mentioned that throughout the 2 million metric tons of imports, there’s a distinction between floor beef purchases versus muscle cuts of beef. She added that imports from Argentina “won’t be very a lot” compared with the 12 million metric tons of U.S. beef consumption.
The agriculture secretary additionally famous that the U.S. Division of Agriculture (USDA) can be carefully monitoring imports for foot-and-mouth illness as a consequence of an outbreak affecting Argentine cattle.
Cattle are proven in pens on the Cattlemen’s Columbus Livestock Public sale in Columbus on Oct. 8, 2025. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle/Getty Photos / Getty Photos)
“Argentina can be dealing with foot-and-mouth illness challenge, which we at USDA have to make sure that our livestock trade is safe. And I do know you’ve got heard quite a bit concerning the screwworm arising from Mexico, foot-and-mouth is a problem too,” Rollins mentioned.
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“We will be certain that our livestock trade is protected,” she added. “It is a very nuanced, very complicated market that we’re shifting in each potential potential route to be sure that we have got an excellent future for these ranchers.”
Nationwide Cattlemen’s Beef Affiliation CEO Colin Woodall advised FOX Enterprise in an announcement that the commerce group’s “household farmers and ranchers have quite a few considerations with importing extra Argentinian beef to decrease costs for shoppers.”
Cattle are proven in pens on the Cattlemen’s Columbus Livestock Public sale in Columbus on Oct. 8, 2025. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle/Getty Photos)
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“This plan solely creates chaos at a crucial time of the yr for American cattle producers, whereas doing nothing to decrease grocery retailer costs,” Woodall mentioned.
He additionally famous that the U.S. and Argentina have had a “deeply unbalanced commerce relationship,” with beef gross sales from Argentina topping $800 million over the past 5 years whereas simply $7 million of U.S. beef has been bought in Argentina.
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Woodall warned that if foot-and-mouth illness is introduced into the U.S. it “might decimate our home livestock manufacturing.”