This article was originally published at 7:33 a.m. CDT on Friday, Aug 21. It was updated with additional information at 10:36 a.m. CDT on Friday, Aug. 21.

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WASHINGTON (DTN) -- President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social Friday morning that the United States will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef intended for ground beef to be imported without an out-of-quota tariff.

"This deal will reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again," Trump said.

The tariff-rate quota lift will last 90 days.

Trump also said, "We have a commitment that this beef will be sold at 25% below current market prices," but provided no additional details about how the price reduction would be implemented or which part of the supply chain would be responsible for lowering prices.

In a statement of opposition Friday, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association said, "Today's announcement and other market interventions throw cold water on the prospect of herd expansion and sacrifices long-term stability for short term messaging." They explained that this is a critical time of year for cattle producers, when producers are making herd-sizing decisions.

"Cattle markets have already turned sharply lower this morning, to the detriment of farmers and ranchers," the statement said.

At 8:30 a.m. CDT Friday morning, October live cattle were down $4.70 at $213.3 and September feeder cattle were down $6.65 at $322.275.

"This obviously isn't setting well with the cattle contracts as both are notably lower at Friday's start," DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart said.

The president floated removing tariffs on imported beef from major exporting countries in May, but retreated from an anticipated executive order following pushback from Congress and ranch groups -- many who oppose foreign beef imports and market shakeups.

The action would mark the second executive order by Trump aimed at lowering beef prices through increased imports. In February 2026, the administration implemented plans to import 80,000 metric tons of Argentine beef in quarterly tranches through calendar year 2026.

The ground beef quantity represents 3% of U.S. beef demand said Glynn Tonsor, an agricultural economist at Kansas State University, during the university's Risk and Profit Conference Friday morning. It's also half the volume of U.S. beef exports in 2026. Through June, the U.S. has exported 546,000 metric tons of beef, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

The Argentine quota accounted for less than 5% of total U.S. beef imports in 2025. An additional 300,000 metric tons would account for nearly 15% of U.S. beef imports, based on 4.4 billion pounds of beef imported in 2025, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

The existing tariff-rate quota system gives several major beef exporters preferential access to the U.S. market. Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Uruguay have country-specific quotas, while Brazil and other eligible exporters compete within the pooled "Other Countries" quota.

Cattle markets had an initial reaction to February's Argentina TRQ, but Stewart wrote in the days following, "Now that the industry has had time to see and absorb Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins' plan to revitalize the U.S. beef herd, the market is back to trading higher as traders and industry experts saw no real issue with the proposal."

The announcement on Friday was not anticipated. Trump has been relatively quiet on the issue since May, with attention instead focused on a potential deal with Canada to reduce its 50% tariff on U.S. beef and other trade issues involving dairy.

The administration's decision to raise beef imports also comes after Tyson announced processing cuts in Joslin, Illinois, and Utah.

Trump described the latest action as a "deal to substantially lower the price of ground beef for working American families."

But "flooding the market with government-subsidized, below-market beef is not the way to rebuild the American cattle herd," NCBA said.

DTN will update this story as more details emerge.

See Trump's Truth Social Post: https://x.com/…

See "Trump Announces Plan to Boost Imports of Beef Trimmings from Argentina," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Jake Zajkowski can be reached at jake.zajkowski@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @jzajkow

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