Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) questions U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick during a Senate Appropriations Committee proceeding successful the Dirksen Senate Office Building connected Capitol Hill connected June 04, 2025 successful Washington, DC.
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Republican Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska connected Tuesday warned President Donald Trump that his connection for the U.S. to bargain Argentina's beef volition wounded American cattle ranchers and neglect to little prices.
"Bottom line: if the extremity is addressing beef prices astatine the market store, this isn't the way," Fischer wrote successful an X post.
Trump floated the thought implicit the play arsenic a mode to bring down beef costs, which person soared successful the U.S. this year.
The tentative program would impact further U.S. concern successful Argentina, the South American federation whose teetering system has precocious been buoyed by a $20 cardinal currency swap deal with the Trump administration.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said past week that the U.S. is considering providing Argentina another $20 billion successful financing. Argentina President Javier Milei is simply a adjacent state of Trump.
Fischer wrote Tuesday greeting that she has reached retired to the Trump medication to explicit "deep concerns" astir the imaginable Argentine beef buy.
"I've besides been sounding the alarm connected the bleak authorities of our ag system and the antagonistic impacts facing Nebraska's ag manufacture — the economical operator of our state," Fischer wrote.
"Right now, authorities involution successful the beef marketplace volition wounded our cattle ranchers. The U.S. has safe, reliable beef, and it is the 1 agleam spot successful our struggling ag economy," the legislator wrote.
"Nebraska's ranchers cannot spend to person the rug pulled retired from nether them erstwhile they're conscionable getting up oregon simply breaking even," she wrote.
"I powerfully promote the Trump medication to absorption connected commercialized deals that payment our ag producers — not imports that volition bash much harm than good."
The White House and the U.S. Department of Agriculture did not instantly respond to CNBC's requests for remark connected Fischer's post.
Trump told reporters connected Air Force One Sunday that his medication is "thinking astir doing" the beef woody with Argentina.
"We would bargain immoderate beef from Argentina," Trump said. "If we bash that, that volition bring our beef prices down."
Asked to respond to U.S. farmers who consciousness that that woody would payment Argentina implicit themselves, Trump was dismissive.
"Argentina is warring for its life, young lady. You don't cognize thing astir it," helium said.
"If I tin assistance them past successful a escaped satellite — I hap to similar the president of Argentina. I deliberation he's trying to bash the champion helium can. But don't marque it dependable similar they're doing great. They are dying," Trump said.
The president's comments rapidly raised alarms with U.S. cattle ranchers.
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association said successful a connection Monday that its farmers and ranchers "are acrophobic that rewarding Argentina with this expanded entree to the U.S. marketplace harms American cattlemen and women, portion besides interfering with the escaped market."
"This program lone creates chaos astatine a captious clip of the twelvemonth for American cattle producers, portion doing thing to little market store prices," NCBA CEO Colin Woodall said successful the aforesaid press release.
The Trump administration's fiscal assistance for Buenos Aires had already drawn the ire of American soybean producers, who are reeling from the nonaccomplishment of China arsenic a apical lawsuit owed to the ongoing commercialized warfare with the U.S.
China has started buying soybeans from Argentina, which reportedly suspended export taxes past period — a determination that coincided with Trump's pledge to assistance Milei.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, asked Tuesday greeting connected CNBC's "Squawk Box" astir buying Argentine beef, noted that Trump "has mentioned it a mates of times."
"I deliberation you'll beryllium proceeding much astir precisely what that looks like," she said.
Rollins said the beef manufacture successful the U.S. has go massively consolidated successful caller years, which has resulted successful thousands of farms closing.
"The prices are high. The president is precise focused connected his committedness of keeping market prices down, but he's besides precise focused, and you'll perceive much from america possibly successful the adjacent time oregon two, connected what we're are going to bash to incentivize" radical to go ranchers, Rollins said.
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