Trump’s tariff waiver on beef imports has unsettled Wyoming ranchers already struggling with drought, rising costs and a shrinking supply of cattle, with one producer saying the value of his herd fell by 10% overnight.
Mark Eisele, who runs nearly 1,500 head of cattle outside Cheyenne, said the market reaction followed President Donald Trump’s announcement on 21 August that up to 300,000 metric tonnes of ground beef could enter the United States over 90 days without the higher tariff normally imposed once import quotas are exceeded.
“This announcement came out, we had a 10% drop in the value of cattle overnight,” Mr Eisele told CBS News. “If that was in any other market, it would be earth-shattering. We’re going to have to absorb that.”
The decision, which took effect on 1 September, was presented by the White House as a way to ease pressure on American households as beef prices approach $7 a pound, compared with $2.93 in 2021. Mr Trump said the measure would lower prices while allowing the US cattle herd to rebuild.
But ranchers and agricultural economists have questioned whether the move will make a meaningful difference at the checkout, while warning that cheaper imports could weaken the incentive to expand domestic herds.
Beef imports raise fears over the future of US ranching
The additional imports amount to more than 660 million pounds of beef and are intended primarily to provide lean trimmings for use in ground beef. The White House has said imported supplies should be sold at a discount of 25% to current market prices.
US cattle futures dropped sharply after the announcement, with some Chicago Mercantile Exchange contracts reaching their lowest level in eight months. Prices later recovered much of the decline, but were still about 2% below their level before Mr Trump’s announcement at Friday’s close.
Chris Bastian, an agricultural economist at the University of Wyoming, said the imported beef would represent only about 2% of what Americans consume. In his view, that was unlikely to bring a substantial reduction in retail prices but could add uncertainty for producers deciding whether to retain animals and rebuild their herds.
“If we continue down the road of importing beef, that’s going to continue to create risk and uncertainty for producers,” Mr Bastian said. “We’ll face continually tight supplies.”
The White House has described the situation as a major disruption to the US beef market. Its latest proclamation says the national herd has fallen to its lowest level in 75 years and forecasts domestic beef production will be about 4% lower in 2026 than in 2025.
The administration has also pointed to restrictions on live cattle imports from Mexico, where officials are trying to prevent the spread of New World screwworm, as another factor affecting supplies.
Wyoming ranchers say those pressures are being felt across the state. Drought has reduced grass and feed availability, while the cost of diesel, fertiliser and other inputs has increased. Some producers have sold cattle earlier than planned because they could not afford to keep them.
“It’s been a year that I hope we never do it again,” said Lander Nicodemus, owner of Torrington Livestock Markets, which auctions about 450,000 head of cattle annually. “Guys were forced to make some really tough decisions this year and sell cattle that they didn’t want to.”
Mr Eisele said the tariff waiver had compounded the difficulties facing ranchers by changing market expectations without changing the cost of raising cattle.
“The reality is we raise grass, and we market it through the cattle,” he said in comments reported by Wyoming Public Media. “Without that grass, we don’t have the cattle.”
Wyoming Stock Growers Association president Jim Magagna said ranchers had voiced strong opposition to the policy, arguing that it could harm domestic producers without delivering significant savings to consumers.
Republican senator John Barrasso, who represents Wyoming, has also criticised the plan, saying Americans wanted US beef rather than foreign imports and that it should become easier, not harder, for Wyoming ranchers to supply the country.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said the move risked undermining efforts to expand the herd. Supporters of the policy, however, argue that additional supplies are needed to address record prices and give consumers relief in the short term.
For ranchers such as Mr Nicodemus, the central concern is whether enough producers will remain in business to meet demand in future years.
“What are we going to sell next year, who will still be in business, is a really big concern,” he said. “And I think it should be a big concern for the American consumer.”
