President Trump wants officials within his administration to
look into rescinding trade deals that require the U.S. to import cattle. The
president made the remarks at the White House on Tuesday while announcing $19
billion in financial assistance for the ag sector to help it get through the
COVID-19 pandemic.
"I read (Monday) where we take some cattle in from
other countries because we have trade deals. I think you should look into
terminating those deals. All right?" he said to Agriculture Secretary
Sonny Perdue during the funding announcement. "We have trade deals where
we actually take in cattle, and we have a lot of cattle in this country. And I
think you should look at the possibility of terminating those trade
deals."
If a trading partner has been good for the U.S., the relationships
should continue, he added.
Farms.com reports that the U.S. currently only imports
cattle from its USMCA counterparts, Canada and Mexico. In 2018, the United
States imported almost 2 million head of cattle from its North American
neighbors, USDA data says. Also, that year, Australia exported a single animal
to the U.S.
The beef industry responded to the president's remarks. If
President Trump wants to change beef imports, he should look at other countries
before targeting Canada and Mexico.
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) "and
its members strongly request the White House to take another look at his
(February) decision to allow fresh beef imports from nations like Brazil, where
there continues to be concerns with foot-and-mouth disease and USDA's decision
to reopen the American market to Brazilian beef," Colin Woodall, CEO of
the NCBA, said in a statement Tuesday.
President Trump's comments even garnered a response from the
Canadian beef industry.
The two countries rely on open trade to ensure farmers on
both sides of the border are profitable, said Bob Lowe, president of the
Canadian Cattlemen's Association.
"There is no doubt that we have an integral trade
relationship with the United States -- we are excellent trade partners -- in
fact, we have the largest two-way beef trade in the world, and it continues to
be mutually beneficial," he said in a statement Tuesday.