Livestock Group Backs Tariff Strategy

R-CALF United Stock Growers of America is backing President Trump's tariff strategies, saying they could help make the US a producing nation. Once again, CEO Bill Bullard shares his perspective, particularly on how these tariffs could impact the sheep industry, including a formal request for a section 232 investigation.

“That's an investigation to determine if imports are causing a threat to our national security. And of course, the sheep industry, our military relies on wool, and obviously it's an important protein source. So we submitted a request that included not just tariffs, but a tariff rate quota system. What our goal is is to rebuild the desolated sheep industry in the United States. We've lost over 60% of the producers, over 60% of our inventory of sheep.”

R-CALF supports the sheep industry as they know what happens there could happen to the cattle industry. Bullard says a recommended tariff rate, if implemented, would gradually limit the volume at the imports entering the US each year, something supporters say could help level the playing field for American producers.

“We're accumulating a huge deficit that is leveraging down our domestic prices. So we have high prices right now in the cattle industry, but every time our prices reach this, this price point, it makes sense to reinvest and to expand. What happens is the meat packers just bring in more imports.”

Thus, he says, reducing the price point.