Trump Waives Tariffs on 300,000 Metric Tons of Imported Ground Beef for 90 Days as Prices Hit Records

President Trump announced on Truth Social on Aug. 21 that the United States will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef into the country over the next 90 days with "no out-of-quota tariff," pausing rates triggered once imports pass a set quota. "We have a commitment that this beef will be sold at 25 percent below current market prices," he wrote, without saying who made the commitment or how it would be enforced. Ground beef averaged $6.89 a pound in July.

The move applies tariff relief as a direct consumer-price tool, in tension with the administration's broader use of tariffs, and was announced by social media post rather than through a published trade instrument. It also puts the White House at odds with parts of its own coalition: cattle-industry groups have opposed increased imports as undercutting American producers, and the announcement drew public criticism from Republican members of Congress.

The waiver runs 90 days. It follows a February 2026 executive order that increased Argentine beef imports by 80,000 metric tons. An Agriculture Department spokesperson said the action will "help address the affordability of beef." The White House and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association did not immediately comment.