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President Donald Trump is set to sign two executive orders on Monday aimed at lowering record beef prices and rebuilding the U.S. cattle herd, which is at a 75-year low, according to multiple reports. The moves are the administration’s latest effort to ease grocery inflation ahead of November’s midterm elections.
One order would temporarily suspend the tariff-rate quota that applies higher tariffs once a set import volume is reached, across all beef-exporting nations. The Wall Street Journal reported the change would allow more beef into the U.S. at lower tariff rates, citing people familiar with the matter.
The administration also plans to direct the Small Business Administration to expand loans for U.S. ranchers and to roll back rules on endangered wolf protections and cattle ear tag requirements, the Journal reported.
Ground beef averaged $6.75 per pound in January 2026, the highest on record and the steepest annual beef inflation since Trump’s first term, according to Federal Reserve and Labor Department data. The price is up nearly 16% over one year.
The price surge is tied to a shrinking U.S. cattle herd, which has fallen to its lowest level since 1951. Years of drought across Texas, Oklahoma and the Great Plains forced ranchers to sell off cows they could not feed.
Supply is expected to keep tightening through 2026 and 2027 before any meaningful recovery, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, even as consumer demand has remained strong.
Trump began publicly focusing on beef prices last fall as record retail costs coincided with his broader messaging about a strong economy. In October 2025, he proposed a plan to increase Argentine beef imports, drawing pushback from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Republican senators from cattle-heavy states, including Nebraska’s Deb Fischer, who said the policy would “sideline” U.S. producers.
That month, Trump also posted on Truth Social that cattle ranchers “don’t understand” his policies and called for an antitrust investigation into the four largest meatpackers that process 85% of U.S. beef: Tyson Foods, Cargill, JBS and National Beef, blaming processors for price increases.
The U.S. is on pace to import a record amount of beef this year. First-quarter shipments are expected to come largely from Brazil, Australia and Canada, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Brazil, the world’s top beef exporter, is positioned to ship even more to the U.S. after China imposed quotas on Brazilian beef effective in January.
In February, Trump signed the “Ensuring Affordable Beef for the American Consumer” proclamation implementing a November executive order to reduce tariffs on certain food imports, including beef. That action temporarily quadrupled the amount of Argentine beef trimmings that can enter the U.S. tariff-free. Monday’s orders are expected to suspend the tariff quota on all beef-exporting nations, not just Argentina.
Rising beef prices are also affecting restaurant operators. Shake Shack shares fell as much as 30% on Thursday after the company reported a first-quarter net loss and missed revenue estimates, citing beef inflation.
Chipotle, which reported earnings on April 29, said rising beef prices, wage inflation and a higher effective tax rate weighed on margins.
Restaurant Brands International, the parent of Burger King, told analysts last week that “all-time high beef costs” are expected to keep pressuring food cost inflation in the Burger King system “until at least 2027.”
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