AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Beef prices have reached record highs in recent months and become a major worry for the White House. In an attempt to bring down prices, President Trump announced plans to import 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be sold at a discount. But the move to import beef from countries such as Argentina and Brazil angered American cattle ranchers. The president has now offered those ranchers an olive branch with two executive orders designed to boost their industry. For more on this, we're joined now by Michael Marks of Harvest Public Media and the Texas Standard. Good morning, Michael.
MICHAEL MARKS, HOST:
Good morning.
RASCOE: Tell us more about what led to the president's decision to issue these orders.
MARKS: Sure. So these orders are just the latest in a flurry of actions that the Trump administration has taken lately to try to bring down the price of beef. Right now, ground beef costs on average $6.89 per pound. You mentioned those 300,000 metric tons of imported beef sold at a discount. You know, that's the Trump administration trying to ease the strain for consumers. But by doing so, you know, American ranchers, who the president considers a key political constituency, they're upset, saying that this undercuts their business. So these orders, President Trump announced on Friday, include policies that ranchers have asked for quite some time.
RASCOE: What will these executive orders mean for ranchers?
MARKS: Well, there's a lot in them. They'll mean quite a bit. It's a whole package of policies meant to help out ranchers, as well as, you know, smaller meat processors. The president highlighted how they would help smaller butchers and ranchers who want to process their own beef compete against these four big meatpacking companies that control about 85% of that industry. Those are Tyson, Cargill, National Beef and JBS. Ranchers say the consolidation means less money for the people who actually raise the cows.
So this order directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to see what regulations can be eased to make it easier for ranchers to process, sell their own meat directly to consumers. Also calls for more things like technical assistance, marketing resources, loans for small businesses. And there are other elements, you know, like directing the administration to see what it can do to mandate more country-of-origin labeling on beef products. You know, that's something that consumers and ranchers have asked for as a way to better differentiate American-raised meat from imports.
RASCOE: So it sounds like these orders are meant to help loosen the control that these four big meatpacking companies have over the beef industry. Is that correct?
MARKS: That is what President Trump says. He spent a lot of time during the press conference for these orders talking about how the big four meatpacking companies would not be happy about this. You know, another part of them calls for better enforcement of this law that's over 100 years old, called the Packers and Stockyards Act. These are regulations that are supposed to prevent the kind of consolidation we've seen in the meat packing business. But cattle raisers, folks in the industry, will tell you, you know, it just hasn't been enforced to the level they would like. To hear the president tell it, though, this whole idea is to increase competition in the meatpacking industry, give small businesses a better chance to make a living.
RASCOE: So how have ranchers been responding?
MARKS: I think they're more optimistic now than they were a week or so ago when the deal to import those 300,000 metric tons of ground beef was announced. But many, I think, are still leery. They want to see many of these measures, you know, passed by Congress. They say that the executive orders only have so much reach.
RASCOE: That's Michael Marks of Harvest Public Media and the Texas Standard. Michael, thank you so much for joining us.
MARKS: Yeah. Thank you for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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