The NYT reports: Trump Widens Beef Imports in Bid to Lower Prices.

President Trump will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported into the United States with lower tariffs over the next 90 days, he said in a social media post Friday morning, a bid to lower the cost of a staple food for Americans pinched by higher prices.

The beef will be imported with “no out of quota tariff” and sold 25 percent below the current market price, which is $6.89 per pound, he said.

I thought tariffs were the best thing ever, and that foreign governments paid them, and that just having them in place meant more domestic production. As such, I am confused.

Meanwhile, this all sounds like a rock-solid plan.

The president provided almost no details about how his plan would work, but the news seemed to surprise and anger ranchers. He did not say which countries the beef would come from, where it would be sold or how it would be discounted 25 percent.

A White House official said the president would sign an executive order to remove the tariffs within the next two weeks. In exchange for the tariff relief, the president had secured a deal with foreign beef exporters to provide a 25 percent discount, he said.

What could go wrong?

I’m sure this will solve the problem.

Wait, what?

The only durable way to lower beef prices, ranchers and economists said, is to increase the size of the American cattle herd. U.S. cattle numbers are the smallest since the 1950s, after years of drought and low margins resulted in cattle producers reducing the size of their herds or leaving the business. It takes years for ranchers to increase the size of the country’s herd, and there is little evidence they have taken steps to do so over the past 18 months.

“Today’s announcement and other market interventions throw cold water on the prospect of herd expansion and sacrifices long-term stability for short-term messaging,” Mr. Woodall said.

Good thing that climate change is a Chinese hoax! I bet that the droughts have been, too! Someone needs to just tell the cows.

Meanwhile, members of his party in cattle states are not entirely pleased.

NBC News reports: GOP lawmakers criticize Trump’s beef import plan amid blowback from ranchers.

Nebraska’s GOP senators, Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts, said in separate posts on X that Trump’s decision was unwise.

“I’m extremely disappointed by this decision from the White House,” Fischer wrote. “We all want lower grocery prices, but as I’ve said for months, we cannot do it at the expense of American producers. Flooding the market with foreign beef hurts our livestock industry.”

Ricketts wrote: “I appreciate the Administration’s work to lower grocery prices. Short term policy shifts do not equal long term solutions. Flooding the market with lower quality beef compromises Nebraska farmers and ranchers.”

[…]

Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., also cited the hardships American cattle farmers would face as a result of the president’s decision and referred to conversations he’s had with Trump about this issue.

“The President’s heart is in the right place on wanting lower prices for the American people, and beef prices have been impacted by the Mexican screwworm,” Sheehy wrote on X. “But the reality is this action will make it more difficult for American ranchers to rebuild our herd and bring prices down for the American people. And most importantly, this will harm our ranching families who feed the nation.”

Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, who is running for Senate and received Trump’s endorsement in the race, also panned his announcement, writing in a post on X, “I want to lower prices but this is a bad idea.”

Hinson said that instead of allowing beef imports without tariffs, “We should be focused on cutting red tape for cattle producers, lowering the cost of production, and supporting market-based solutions to support Iowa producers and lower costs for consumers.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, writing in his custom shorthand on X, also expressed concern about Trump’s announcement, writing that “USA cattlemen shld always be put 1st thru America 1st policies.”

Grassley also expressed a “need 2keep up progress fighting screwworm+ expanding domestic herd.”

For a president and a party that love to scream about “communism” and “socialism,” they all sure do seem to like market manipulation. Live by the mercurial president who doesn’t really understand markets (or much of anything) and die by the mercurial president who doesn’t really understand markets (or much of anything).