U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he will examine regulations governing beef processing plants, following criticism from agricultural groups over his plan to temporarily ease tariffs on certain beef imports.
Speaking on the Glenn Beck program, Trump acknowledged concerns about consolidation in the meatpacking sector, describing the four major companies controlling roughly 85% of U.S. beef processing as a "monopoly." The firms—Cargill, Tyson Foods, JBS USA, and National Beef Packing Co.—have faced scrutiny over potential anticompetitive practices.
The administration’s proposal to ease tariffs on select beef imports to lower record-high prices has drawn opposition from the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). In a letter sent to Trump on Tuesday, AFBF President Zippy Duvall argued that the move would "undermine America’s ranchers who work tirelessly to grow food for American families."
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that she was unaware of which countries would be covered by the tariff-easing plan. The Justice Department announced last year it was investigating whether meatpacking companies were illegally inflating beef prices.
Trump’s remarks followed calls from Beck to reduce Department of Agriculture regulations, which he suggested would allow smaller ranchers to process their own beef and bypass the industry’s dominant processors. The president did not provide details on potential regulatory changes or a timeline for review.
The White House has yet to clarify how the tariff adjustments would interact with ongoing antitrust scrutiny of the meatpacking sector, where high prices have persisted despite record cattle supplies.
