Report: Trump Plans to Cut Beef Tariffs

Beef lovers could soon see some relief at the checkout line. The Trump administration is preparing to temporarily ease limits on foreign beef, a move officials say is aimed at cutting into stubbornly high meat prices. As early as Monday, the White House plans to suspend the annual tariff-rate quota on beef, which currently triggers higher duties once imports hit a set level, sources tell the Wall Street Journal. Dropping that cap would let more overseas steaks and ground beef in at lower tariff rates.

According to the Journal's sources, the administration will also direct the Small Business Administration to expand lending for US ranchers, loosen some Agriculture Department rules, like electronic ear tag requirements, and scale back protections for gray and Mexican wolves, a frequent target of ranchers' complaints. A White House official described the import shift as a short-term fix for supply pressures and the regulatory rollbacks as a longer-term cost cut for cattle producers, per the Journal.

The two executive actions Trump is expected to sign come as beef prices, unlike eggs and some other groceries, have kept climbing: ground beef is up about 40% over the past five years. In February, the administration opened the door to more beef from Argentina. American beef producers, meanwhile, are hoping this week's summit in Beijing will result in a deal that will allow them to send more beef to China, Reuters reports. Amid trade tensions last year, Beijing allowed registrations for more than 400 US beef plants to expire, meaning they were no longer eligible to export beef to China.