House Republican slams Trump's Argentina beef imports plan
Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.) criticized the Trump administration’s recent plan to quadruple the tariff-rate quota for imported beef from Argentina, saying the country's beef wasn’t “that great.”
“I stand behind our beef producers here,” Alford told anchor Oscar Jimenez in a Friday appearance on CNN. “We do not need more imports from Argentina.”
“By the way, I was down there last year, visiting with President Milei, and their beef isn’t that great,” Alford continued, referring to Argentinian President Javier Milei. “I would prefer a Missouri, Kansas City strip any day over an Argentina beef.”
He acknowledged beef had become more expensive but emphasized the difficulties faced by agricultural sector workers.
“Americans are suffering because beef prices are so high,” Alford said. “The input cost that the farmers and ranchers have had in operating are untenable. We are losing a thousand farms a month in America.”
Prices for beef and veal increased by 13.9 percent between August 2024 and August 2025. President Trump urged cattle ranchers and farmers to lower their prices for beef in a Wednesday post on Truth Social after beef producers criticized his plan to increase imports of the meat from Argentina to lower domestic prices.
“The Cattle Ranchers, who I love, don’t understand that the only reason they are doing so well, for the first time in decades, is because I put Tariffs on cattle coming into the United States, including a 50% Tariff on Brazil,” Trump wrote.
“If it weren’t for me, they would be doing just as they’ve done for the past 20 years — Terrible!” he added.
“President Trump pledged to protect America’s ranchers and deliver economic relief for everyday Americans," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement to The Hill.
"The Administration is accomplishing both by expanding beef imports from Argentina to lower consumer prices in the short term while rolling out a new USDA initiative that will support ranchers and expand cattle herd sizes to keep prices lower in the long term," Kelly continued.
Several other Republicans have also criticized Trump’s plan to import more Argentinian beef, warning it could hurt domestic ranchers.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (S.D.) said the plan was “causing a lot of uncertainty in the market.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) called the president’s bailout of Argentina “a punch to the gut for American cattle ranchers,” who she said were rightfully furious.
Updated at 5:06 p.m. EDT