How much beef does the US import, and where does it come from?

(NewsNation) — President Trump is betting that importing more beef at lower tariffs will bring down high prices but so far has offered few details about his plan.

Trump announced last week that he had reached a “deal” to “substantially lower” the price of ground beef and said the U.S. will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported without triggering higher tariffs over the next 90 days.

“We have a commitment that this beef will be sold at 25 percent below current market prices,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The president hasn’t specified who made the commitment, how the discount will work or where the imported beef will come from.

When asked by reporters Friday, Trump declined to say which countries were involved but said a “few” would be sending “the highest quality beef.”

U.S. beef imports were already projected to hit a record 6.1 billion pounds this year before Trump’s announcement, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) latest forecast. That would mark a 14 percent jump from a year earlier as the domestic cattle herd sits at a 75-year low.

About 80 percent of beef imports in the first half of 2026 came from five countries: Brazil, Australia, Canada, Mexico and New Zealand. However, imports from countries not in the top five, including Argentina and Paraguay, are up roughly 30 percent from a year earlier.

The tight cattle supply is........

© The Hill