Tariff-Free Beef Imports a Nothing Burger
From the Western Ag Network, I’m Bob Larson. The Trump administration’s plan to import 300,000 metric tons of tariff-free foreign-grown beef may not be having the anticipated impact.
Beef Industry Consultant, Dr. Nevil Speer says only about 30,000 metric tons actually made it here and the move was made with the specific goal of lowering beef prices …
SPEER … “We just know that grocery store prices don't move that quickly one way or the other, and you just can't have that kind of an impact, and trying to change the beef supply chain and move it is like turning the Titanic. It just doesn't happen that way. I don't think consumers have seen one bit of difference."
Besides, Speer says they're not really focused on the price of hamburger right now. They're looking at gas and diesel prices, so it really is a “nothing burger” …
SPEER … “Producers get really emotional about it, and I agree with them 100 percent, and I wrote about it. Right? It's not the imports; it's the interference. But let's all take a breath a little bit and understand this is a huge business. At the end of the day, 300,000 metric tons isn't that much. I wrote about it, that it's unlikely all of it would come, and that's kind of how it looks like it's playing out. And so, yes, it was a nothing burger, or just kind of a big talking point for them to flash around on social media and say, ‘Look what we're doing for consumers.”
Again, that’s Dr. Neville Speer.
