Brown, Costa Lead Letter Criticizing Trump’s Argentina Beef Bailout and Attack on US Ranchers

Washington, DC — Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11) and Congressman Jim Costa (CA-21) led a letter to the Trump Administration condemning the White House’s proposed beef bailout for Argentina, market-disrupting actions, and continued attacks on domestic farmers and ranchers. Brown serves as Vice Ranking Member on the House Committee on Agriculture, Costa serves as Ranking Member on the Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Subcommittee. 

The Brown-Costa letter was signed by 52 members of the House of Representatives. 

The members’ letter highlights the Administration’s pattern of economic mismanagement and misplaced priorities — bailing out Argentina’s government while destabilizing American cattle markets and leaving U.S. producers to deal with higher input costs and drought. Recent comments from the President about importing more Argentine beef triggered multiple “limit down” days in U.S. cattle futures, costing American ranchers millions.

The members write, “The past few weeks in the beef industry perfectly capture this Administration’s approach to policy: make big claims, hurt American producers, inject volatility into the marketplace, and do nothing to lower prices for everyday Americans.”

“From soy to beef, the Trump Administration continues to put Argentina’s farmers and ranchers ahead of America’s. First Trump sent $40 billion to bail out Argentina, enabling Argentinian farmers to sell soybeans to China and undermine American farmers. Now, he has delivered Argentina a Beef Bailout that is bad for American consumers, ranchers, and the country. The chaos, volatility, and meddling from the White House are rising costs and hurting our own producers. Our message is clear: the Trump Administration needs to focus on supporting American consumers and producers, not Argentina,” said Congresswoman Brown.

“America First, means America, not Argentina first,” said Congressman Costa. “As Ranking Member of the Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Subcommittee, I am proud to lead this letter with Vice Ranking Member Rep. Brown ensuring our farmers and ranchers voices are heard. I will continue to urge the Administration to reconsider such actions and instead focus on reducing trade barriers, protecting our domestic cattle herd from foreign animal diseases, and promoting domestic production.” 

The text of the letter is copied below: 

Ambassador Jamieson Greer
U.S. Trade Representative
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
600 17^th St., NW
Washington, DC 20250

Dear Secretary Rollins and Ambassador Greer,

In recent weeks, the President’s repeated statements about lowering U.S. beef prices by importing more beef from Argentina have destabilized U.S. cattle markets. These comments have contributed to multiple limit down days in the futures market, which are directly due to the President’s insistence on dictating policy through social media. While this volatility may not concern the billionaires the President often prioritizes, it does have real consequences for ranchers who are bringing their animals to market. We write to you today to express our concerns. 

Farmers and ranchers weathered difficult years during the pandemic and have only recently begun to recover and recoup their losses. The market fundamentals are clear: cattle herds have been restricted because of drought and high supply costs^[1], leading to U.S. cattle inventory hitting its lowest point in decades.^[2] That limited supply, combined with strong consumer demand, has naturally led to higher beef prices. Consumer demand for beef in America remains high, and supply is low; this is basic economics. The path to rebuilding herds and stabilizing prices is straightforward; it requires time, sound policy, and partnership with producers to grow domestic supply. Responsible governance demands patience and collaboration, not impulsive tweets or one-off imports from nations led by the President’s political allies.

The Administration’s support for Argentinian beef is a blatant political attempt to prop up Argentina’s extremist leader. This all comes on the heels of bailing out the Argentinian economy at the expense of U.S. farmers and ranchers and amid a government shutdown where the Administration is deliberately choosing to help foreign leaders while refusing to feed Americans at home. These actions have made it abundantly clear that the administration’s priorities lie in helping other countries rather than feeding Americans or supporting American farmers and ranchers. 

The President’s approach is to undercut U.S. producers by importing enough beef to lower prices. This method will directly undermine American cattle producers, forcing more out of business and increasing our dependence on a foreign supply. In response to the President’s remarks, on October 20^th, the United States Cattlemen’s Association commented in part, “government intervention is not needed in an industry that is already correcting in response to years of market pressure. Today’s comments alone triggered an immediate reaction in the markets—cattle futures dropped significantly. It’s important to underscore: the current price of beef on grocery store shelves reflects the true, inflation-adjusted cost of raising cattle in America today. USCA supports affordable food prices for American families. But we do oppose policies or loopholes that manipulate the market to address a solution that will be solved through natural market behavior. This approach weakens our industry’s foundation and undermines rural America.”^[3]

Additionally, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said in response to the announcement, “NCBA’s family farmers and ranchers have numerous concerns with importing more Argentinian beef to lower prices for consumers. This plan only creates chaos at a critical time of the year for American cattle producers, while doing nothing to lower grocery store prices”^[4]. Argentina is our 8^th largest import market for beef, quadrupling the imports based on 2024 numbers would move them up to 6^th.^[5] The administration’s claim that this will lower beef prices is wrong; imports only provide roughly 18% of American beef consumption, and Argentina is a small portion of that.^[6] The only thing that this has done is introduce uncertainty into the marketplace and cost American cattle producers money. 

The past few weeks in the beef industry perfectly capture this Administration’s approach to policy: make big claims, hurt American producers, inject volatility into the marketplace, and do nothing to lower prices for everyday Americans. 

The Administration must ensure that any future actions reflect sound market principles, strengthen domestic production, and support the farmers and ranchers who feed this nation. Farm groups have publicly expressed their concern with the approach, with the American Farm Bureau urging “the Administration to carefully consider the damage importing more beef and cattle from other countries will have as cattle farmers decide whether to invest in rebuilding America's herds. Just the mention of beef imports created more instability and uncertainty for America’s farmers. Flooding markets with foreign-grown beef could affect our nation’s ability to be food independent in the long term.”^[7]

The Administration should not stand with foreign governments and against America’s cattle producers, and make clear that U.S. agriculture trade policy will not be short-sighted political calculations.

[SIGNATURES]