During a Thursday appearance on Newsmax, National Cattlemen's Beef Association CEO Colin Woodall said President Donald Trump's recent proposal to import Argentine beef, as he seeks to lower prices for U.S. consumers, misses the mark.
Woodall said the plan misunderstands both how the beef market works and the economic pressures U.S. cattle ranchers are facing.
"We're very disappointed with the president's comments because the proposal of bringing in Argentinian beef is not going to bring down the consumer price for beef," Woodall said on "National Report."
"In essence, what the president has told us is we need to just be comfortable with taking less money for our product. When we look at the investment we've made in our product, it just doesn't sit well with us."
Woodall explained that ranchers are "at the very beginning of what is a very long and complicated supply chain" and are already burdened by significant costs — from fuel and feed to equipment and land.
"We, as cattle producers, we're also consumers," he said.
"So when we look at fuel prices, feed prices, the cost of equipment, insurance, interest rates, land prices, we're also under the gun and feeling a lot of that pressure."
According to Woodall, cattle producers have spent decades improving the quality of American beef through investment, and today's product is the best it's ever been.
"This industry has worked for decades to improve the quality of beef, and the product that you can find today in your grocery store is the highest-quality beef we have ever had," he said.
That progress, Woodall added, has paid off in growing consumer demand.
"It's been decades in the making and the things that we have done on farms and ranches around the country to make this product better … the consumer is reacting by supporting our industry in purchasing our beef," he said.
Woodall emphasized that the industry is not ignoring the economic impact on the consumer.
"We are also focused on the consumer," he said, referencing Trump's comments on consumer sticker shock. "Without the consumer, we don't have a business, and our focus has been more on the quality of the product that we're providing our customers."
"It's important to remember that the consumer does not have to buy beef," Woodall said. "They want to buy beef, and I think that's something the president is not considering here."
Rather than turning to imports from Argentina, Woodall argued that Trump could do a number of things to strengthen the U.S. cattle industry.
"He can roll back rules and regulations to help us," he said.
"Let's delist the gray wolf. Let's allow us to address the scourge of the black vultures."
"Let's make access to federal lands easier for producers. Things like that will help us grow," added Woodall.
"And if we grow this industry, it's going to accomplish a lot of what the president wants to do."
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