R-CALF USA Calls for MCOOL Following President’s Proclamation
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WASHINGTON, D.C., Aug. 27, 2026 — In a proclamation signed yesterday, President Donald Trump memorialized his earlier Truth Social announcement in which he stated he would allow up to 300,000 metric tons of lean beef trimmings to enter the United States within the next 90 days free from out-of-quota tariffs. The president said the plan is intended to lower ground beef prices for consumers.
The United States maintains a tariff rate quota (TRQ) system for beef for countries that do not have a trade agreement with the United States, allowing unlimited access to the U.S. market, such as with Canada and Mexico. The TRQ system provides a limit on the volume of beef a country can import under two tariff rates. Tariffs for beef imported within the established volume limit are low, generally around 4.4 cents per kilogram. However, imports in excess of the volume limit are subject to the over-quota tariff rate of 26.4 percent. The purpose of the over-quota tariff rate is to discourage additional imports above the established volume limit.
Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay, and the United Kingdom have country-specific volume limits, while all other countries not subject to a trade agreement are classified as “other countries or areas.” This “other countries or areas” category has a volume limit of 52,005 metric tons and includes the countries of Brazil, Paraguay, Japan, Ireland, and other EU countries, all of which provided imported beef to the United States in 2026.
The proclamation applies to this “other countries or areas” category, for which the volume limit had already been met with beef imports from Brazil in January. The suspension of the over-quota tariff rate for an additional 300,000 metric tons of lean beef trimmings over the next 90 days means that any country or combination of countries within the “other countries or areas” category can, on a first-come, first-served basis, fill the new 300,000 metric ton limit.
The proclamation further encourages beef importers to sell the additional imports at a price 25 percent below the market price for lean beef trimmings. Given that lean beef trimmings are a wholesale product used to manufacture ground beef, the 25 percent below-market price requirement effectively applies to ground beef manufacturers, not retailers.
While the administration’s action is intended to introduce additional lower-priced foreign beef into the U.S. wholesale market, beef sold at retail is not required to disclose the country where the animal was born, raised and slaughtered. As a result, consumers will not be able to distinguish beef produced from these additional imports from beef produced exclusively by U.S. ranchers from U.S. cattle.
In response to the proclamation, R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard released the following statement:
“We are disappointed that the president has taken action to increase the domestic supply of beef with foreign beef that will now compete directly with beef produced by America’s ranchers. What makes this particularly concerning is that American consumers still are not afforded the means to distinguish ground beef manufactured with imported beef from ground beef produced exclusively from cattle born, raised and harvested in the United States.
“Without mandatory country-of-origin labeling, lower-priced foreign beef can enter the U.S. market and compete directly with American beef without being clearly distinguished from it at retail. This denies American ranchers the opportunity to capture the value consumers may place on U.S.-produced beef while forcing them to compete with increased volumes of lower-priced foreign beef.
“The White House itself recognizes the growing consumer awareness of the quality of U.S.-produced beef. If foreign beef is going to compete on price, American beef must be allowed to compete on its U.S. origin.
“We urge President Trump to support the immediate restoration of mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef and urge Congress to act swiftly to make it law, so American ranchers can differentiate their U.S.-produced beef from imported beef and consumers can make an informed choice about whether the beef they purchase for their families is American or foreign beef.”
