WASHINGTON, Aug 26 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a proclamation to temporarily increase the quantity of lean beef trimmings that are imported, according to the White House.
The proclamation released by the White House said that the step aimed to address beef prices that have “increased unreasonably” for U.S. consumers. The American Farm Bureau Federation, the nation’s top farm lobby, wrote to Trump in a letter that lightening the tariffs would “undermine America’s ranchers.”
Trump suggested last week that he would make the move, which drew immediate strong opposition from U.S. farm and ranch groups.
U.S. consumers have faced record-high beef prices this year, as drought and wildfires have pushed cattle supplies to a 75-year low.
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Trump had imposed livestock import restrictions on Mexico to combat the spread of New World screwworm, the proclamation said. This week, the U.S. began a phased reopening of some livestock ports along its southern border.
The quantity of trimmings imported with no above-quota tariff will be increased by 300,000 metric tons, the proclamation said.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh, Ismail Shakil, Christian Martinez, and Leah Douglas; Editing by Daphne Psaledakis and David Gregorio)
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