UNITED States President Donald Trump has flagged temporary removal of tariffs on imported beef as part of measures to rein-in cost of living pressures for US consumers.

Like many of his previous policy announcements, the proposed trade access changes announced overnight were light-on for detail and did not clarify whether all supplier countries, or only selected individuals would benefit. Some of his earlier public trade pronouncements have not been followed-up with Executive Orders, meaning they never came into effect.

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Following an article first published by the Wall Street Journal overnight, there are multiple US media reports circulating this morning about tariff relief on beef imported into the US.

The measure would have no direct effect on Australian exports, which already arrive tariff-free into the US under our Free Trade Agreement. However they could substantially change our competitive position with Brazil.

Trump last week met Brazilian President Inacio Lula da Silva.

Brazil currently exports into the US under the modest ‘Other Country’ annual quota, which this year was filled within six days of the start of the trading year in January. That means Brazil currently (and for the rest of 2026)  faces an out-of-quota tariff of 26.4pc into the US, making it less competitive against product from Australia and New Zealand.

That tariff barrier has not stopped record volume of Brazilian beef entering the US this year, however.

The ‘Other Country’ quota under which Brazil operates was already small at just 65,000t, but in January Trump took the surprise step of taking 13,000t from the quota and granting it specifically to the United Kingdom, in exchange for a reciprocal access for US beef into the UK. Effectively, that has reduced the ‘Other Country’ quota used by Brazil and others this year to just 52,000t.

In contrast Australia’s bilateral FTA beef quota into the US this year is 378,214t. By the end of April, volume had reached 147,000t or 39pc of that total, suggesting we are unlikely to fill our quota until very late in the year, at worst. It would then be only a matter of weeks before the new 2027 quota kicks-in, and any tariff resets to zero.

According to the Wall Street Journal article and other US media, Trump is set to sign executive orders to allow increased beef imports into the US in an effort to address high beef prices.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump would temporarily suspend tariff-rate quotas on beef, which would allow more of the meat to enter the US at zero tariff rates.

The measures announced overnight would also include support for the renewal of the US cattle herd, a White House official said. Trump would direct the Small Business Administration to increase lending to ranchers and to reduce protections under the Endangered Species Act for gray and Mexican wolves that prey on herds.

The measures come at a time when the US cattle herd has shrunk to its lowest level in 75 years and beef prices continue to rise. Beef prices have continued to climb  since Trump took office in January 2025, becoming a bellwether symbol of persistent inflation for American consumers as the northern hemisphere summer grilling season gets underway.

Last October, Trump ordered a quadrupling of beef imports from Argentina, and a month later removed his 40pc punitive tariff (unrelated to the existing MFN tariff)  on Brazilian beef and coffee.

The moves did little to reverse beef prices, which were up 12.1pc year-over-year in April, according to the US Consumer Price Index. US beef is 16pc more expensive than when Trump returned to office in January 2025.

The US Department of Agriculture has projected that the nation will import a record 2.6 million tonnes of beef this year, up 25pc from 2024.

According to the Wall Street Journal article, “The Trump administration is opening the way to import more steaks and ground beef from overseas, part of a broader effort to address record-high beef prices.”

It says the administration is planning to temporarily reduce tariffs on beef imports as soon as Monday, according to people familiar with the matter. “The move would suspend the annual tariff-rate quota — which applies a higher tariff rate after a certain level of beef imports are reached — on all beef-exporting nations, enabling more of the product to enter the US at lower tariff rates.”

Oklahoma State University extension livestock marketing specialist Derrell Peel told US media there was considerable uncertainty about the details in Trump’s overnight announcement.

“It’s not clear whether this only applies to over quota tariffs or to the 10pc retaliatory tariffs that everyone faces. In any event, I don’t believe this will have large impacts to reduce beef prices in the US,” Dr Peel said.

He suggested it may only impact Brazil and perhaps Paraguay.

“The market is basically determining beef imports now, albeit with some tariffs,” he said. “Reducing tariffs might have a minor impact on the quantity of imports but I think it is minimal. If it does have any impact it will marginally reduce lean manufacturing beef prices. No impact on steaks.”

Texas A&M professor and extension specialist for livestock and food product marketing David Anderson told US media that by suspending the TRQ the administration has announced, it effectively meant a lower tariff on imported beef.

“The majority of what we import is lean trimmings for ground beef, so that might suggest any impact might be more on the cull cow side of things. I don’t expect much, if any, price impact from this,” Prof Anderson said.

“These countries also export beef to China and other places so how much is really available to send here? Existing contracts with other buyers in other countries may impact how much is available right away, to come to the US.”

He said China had recently announced trade restricted quotas on imported beef – and those applying to Australia and Brazil were likely to quite restrictive later in the year.

“That indicates that we might get more imports from those countries later in 2026 due to the Chinese tariff restricting what they can sell in China due to relative prices including the tariff,” he said.

US livestock industry lobby group R-CALF said increased imports could discourage American ranchers from expanding their herds.