Trump says U.S. cattle ranchers ‘don’t understand’ tariffs after some slam Argentine beef

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said U.S. cattle ranchers “don’t understand” how they have benefitted from his tariffs, adding that they “have to get their prices down.”

The admonition came after some ranchers have openly criticized Trump’s proposal to import beef from Argentina in order to bring down prices for American consumers.

Trump claimed that those ranchers “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.”

He highlighted the 50% tariff he imposed in early August on imports from Brazil, one of the top sellers of beef to the U.S.

“If it weren’t for me, they would be doing just as they’ve done for the past 20 years — Terrible!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

“It would be nice if they would understand that, but they also have to get their prices down, because the consumer is a very big factor in my thinking, also!” he added.

Beef prices in the U.S. have generally risen since last year, and some products, such as boneless sirloin steaks, have shot up by double-digit percentages, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Trump told reporters on Sunday that his administration is “thinking about doing” a deal with Argentina in which “we would buy some beef” from the South American nation.

“If we do that, that will bring our beef prices down,” he said.

The comments drew swift rebukes from U.S. cattle ranchers.

“This plan only creates chaos at a critical time of the year for American cattle producers, while doing nothing to lower grocery store prices,” National Cattlemen’s Beef Association CEO Colin Woodall said in a statement on Monday.

In response to Trump’s Truth Social post on Wednesday, Woodall said that his organization “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,” Woodall said.

At least one Republican senator, Deb Fischer of Nebraska, has openly pushed back on Trump’s proposal.

“Government intervention in the beef market will hurt our cattle ranchers,” she wrote in an X post Tuesday.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said Tuesday that “a lot” of Republican senators have told Trump that they do not want Argentine beef imported to the U.S.

The U.S. financial relationship with Argentina has come under heavy scrutiny after the Trump administration agreed to a $20 billion currency swap deal to help stabilize the country’s teetering economy. Trump is a close ally of Argentina President Javier Milei, whose aggressive deregulation efforts have been celebrated by American conservatives.

American soybean farmers and their advocates have slammed the financial lifeline for Buenos Aires because China, a top buyer of the staple crop, has moved its business from the U.S. to Argentina amid Trump’s trade war.

Argentina, in a move that coincided with Trump’s pledge to help Milei, suspended export taxes last month.

“Why would USA help bail out Argentina while they take American soybean producers’ biggest market???” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, wrote on X at the time.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., when asked Wednesday morning about Trump’s Argentine beef-buying plan, said there have been some developments “over the last 24 hours.”

“The White House doesn’t want any unintended consequences.” Johnson said.

— CNBC’s Mary Catherine Wellons and Emily Wilkins contributed to this report.