Trump Cuts Beef Import Tax to Lower Prices by 25%

US beef prices are climbing fast, and President Trump says he has a fix: cutting the tax on imported beef.

In a post on his TruthSocial platform, Trump announced plans to remove a 26.4% tariff (a tax on goods brought into the country from abroad) on imported beef. He says this will help bring beef prices down by about 25%.

Why are beef prices so high?

The main problem is that the US has fewer cattle than it's had in about 75 years. Years of drought and expensive feed pushed ranchers to shrink their herds, meaning fewer cows, fewer calves, and less beef available — while people kept buying just as much as before.

Here's how much prices have risen from July 2025 to July 2026:

• Ground beef: $6.50 → $7.12/lb (+9.4%)
• 100% ground beef: $6.25 → $6.89/lb (+10.1%)
• Beef roasts: now $9.57/lb (+14.0%)
• Steaks: now $13.06/lb (+10.0%)

Right now, imported beef above a set limit gets taxed 26.4%, which makes it more expensive. That extra cost is usually passed on to shoppers. Trump's plan removes this tax on 300,000 metric tons of imported beef, and he claims sellers have committed to selling it at 25% below current prices — though he didn't say who made that commitment.

An interesting admission

The article points out something notable: by saying that removing the tariff will lower prices, Trump is basically admitting that tariffs raise prices for consumers. This contradicts what several of his own officials — like Treasury Secretary Bessent and Commerce Secretary Lutnick — have said before, that tariffs don't hurt shoppers.

The bottom line

Cheaper imports may ease prices short-term, but the deeper problem — too few cattle at home — won't be solved quickly. Because cows take years to breed and raise, rebuilding the US herd could take far longer than a few months.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://investinglive.com/news/trump-gets-rid-of-26-4-tariffs-on-imported-beef-and-prices-will-come-down-by-25/