Ground Beef Import Proclamation Signed by POTUS, H-2A Worker Wage Rate Verdict

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation removing tariffs for 300,000 metric tons of imported lean beef trimmings for 90 days. He says countries supplying the beef will offer it at prices 25 below current market levels. He says he is taking action to try to bring down ground beef prices by increasing imports. The move has drawn criticism from some Republicans and from members of the U.S. cattle industry, including the National Cattlemen's Beef Association's director of government affairs, Kent Bacus

“President's really focused on ground beef, so that means that if they follow some of the same procedures they have. They really tried to restrict it to tariff lines that allowed for lean beef trimmings, kind of feed into that ground beef demand. But you know, there's always pressure to try to expand that overall. We don't know yet. But if they limit it to that, that's going to probably put more pressure on the 90s and some of the other lean lean trim prices that are there. But it also puts pressure on a lot of other countries that are sending beef to the U.S. “And he says questions remain on where the beef will come from.

A federal judge has struck down a Trump administration rule that would have lowered wages for some foreign farm workers. The rule changed the adverse effect wage rate, which sets a minimum pay for H-2A ag workers. The judge ruled that the Labor Department improperly rushed the rule through without sufficient public input.