BEEF industry groups in the United States have raised concerns about President Donald Trump’s plan to import more beef from Argentina to lower retail prices.

The President first mentioned the plan in a press conference last week, talking about lowering inflation. With further questioning, he said the plan was to import more beef from Argentina.

But the plan has drawn criticism from US beef industry groups, who have been largely supportive of Trump. One of them was the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, who have been working closely with Trump to open more export opportunities for US beef – including to Australia.

“NCBA’s family farmers and ranchers have numerous concerns with importing more Argentinian beef to lower prices for consumers. This plan only creates chaos at a critical time of the year for American cattle producers, while doing nothing to lower grocery store prices,” said NCBA CEO Colin Woodall.

“Additionally, Argentina has a deeply unbalanced trade relationship with the U.S. In the past five years Argentina has sold more than $801 million of beef into the U.S. market. By comparison, the U.S. has sold just over $7 million worth of American beef to Argentina. Argentina also has a history of foot-and-mouth disease, which if brought to the United States, could decimate our domestic livestock production.”

Another group called the United States Cattlemen’s Association have also come out against the proposal. President Justin Tupper said beef prices were a reflection of production costs.

“Today’s comments alone triggered an immediate reaction in the markets – cattle futures dropped significantly,” Mr Tupper said.

“It’s important to underscore: the current price of beef on grocery store shelves reflects the true, inflation-adjusted cost of raising cattle in America today.

“USCA supports affordable food prices for American families. But we do oppose policies or loopholes that manipulate the market.

“We have appreciated President Trump’s ‘America First’ priorities, which have consistently highlighted the importance of supporting US producers and reinforcing national food security. This moment presents an excellent opportunity to show genuine American-first leadership by prioritizing strong domestic production, and fair, transparent markets for both ranchers and consumers.”

Argentina a “very good country”, Trump

Many had speculated that Trump may be relaxing 50pc tariffs on Brazilian beef imports, which had been heading into the states in record volumes earlier this year.

But the President has been trying to help his close ally, Argentinian President Javier Milei, ahead of mid-term elections next month.

“I happen to like the president of Argentina. I think he’s trying to do the best he can,” Trump was quoted in a Reuters article.

“And if we buy some beef – now, I’m not talking about that much – from Argentina, it would help Argentina, which we consider a very good country.”