Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Tuesday said that the U.S. is considering imports of beef from Argentina to reduce prices that have been at record highs this year.
Rollins said in an appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box" that the Trump administration is preparing to announce a plan to import beef from Argentina to help increase the beef supply, as prices surged with cattle inventory declining to the lowest level in decades.
"The president has mentioned it a couple of times, I think you'll be hearing more about exactly what that looks like," Rollins said. "In America, we consume about 12 million metric tons of beef, 10 million of that we produce here in America, but the 2 million I'm talking about we've been offshoring."
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Rollins said that within the 2 million metric tons of imports, there is a distinction between ground beef purchases versus muscle cuts of beef. She added that imports from Argentina "will not be very much" when compared with the 12 million metric tons of U.S. beef consumption.
The agriculture secretary also noted that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be closely monitoring imports for foot-and-mouth disease due to an outbreak affecting Argentine cattle.
"Argentina is also facing foot-and-mouth disease issue, which we at USDA have to ensure that our livestock industry is secure. And I know you've heard a lot about the screwworm coming up from Mexico, foot-and-mouth is a challenge too," Rollins said.
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"We're going to ensure that our livestock industry is protected," she added. "This is a very nuanced, very complex market that we're moving in every potential possible direction to make sure that we've got a good future for these ranchers."
National Cattlemen's Beef Association CEO Colin Woodall told FOX Business in a statement that the trade group's "family farmers and ranchers have numerous concerns with importing more Argentinian beef to lower prices for consumers."
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"This plan only creates chaos at a critical time of the year for American cattle producers, while doing nothing to lower grocery store prices," Woodall said.
He also noted that the U.S. and Argentina have had a "deeply unbalanced trade relationship," with beef sales from Argentina topping $800 million over the last five years while just $7 million of U.S. beef has been sold in Argentina.
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Woodall warned that if foot-and-mouth disease is brought into the U.S. it "could decimate our domestic livestock production."
