President Trump is trying to solve a difficult economic problem in the beef market and in the process is creating another problem (nothing new honestly). US ranchers have been slaughtering cattle faster than they are rebuilding their herds. That has pushed the cattle supply to a 75-year low and sent beef prices higher—a problem for consumers and, politically, for the Trump administration.As a result, Trump authorized up to 300,000 metric tons of imported lean beef trimmings to enter the US over 90 days without the normal 26.4% above-quota tariff or ad valorem. The above quota tariff is added on because the US exporters (who do not have specific beef deals with the US) fill up the US quota within the first few weeks of the year. Do exporters still send beef to the US despite the 26.4% ad valorem tariff? The numbers show exporters absorbing the tariff rather than walking away. The largest beef exporter to the US is Brazil and they sure do:Brazil filled its entire 52,000-tonne duty-free US quota within the first five to six days of 2026, then kept shipping anyway — Abiec forecasts that shipments will exceed 400,000 tonnes in 2026, meaning the additional 350,000 tonnes that Brazil expects to send to the U.S. by the end of the year will be taxed at 26.4%.That's not a fluke — what has surprised many trade watchers this year has been the amount of Brazilian beef that continues to enter the US market, despite the massive tariff burden (and Brazil was dealing with an even worse combined 66.4% burden for part of 2025, layering the 26.4% safeguard on top of a 40% country-specific tariff).Now the administration has said that they want that beef sold at prices 25% below the prevailing "market price". My inkling is the that the "market price" is about 25% for all beef, because without the tariffs imported beef is 26.4% less in price. US producers- who know that Brazil pays 26.4% more - will be forced to match their lower price without the ad valorem tariff, and therefore, not have the 26.4% cushion (or subsidy) as a result of that tariff. Putting numbers to the argument, if you were a US producer and the market price without tariff is $100, but with tariffs it is $126.40 because Brazil is still sending beef at that price, wouldn't you raise your price to something just below that level at $125.55 if the demand is there? The tariff gave the US beef industry the ability to jack up prices by that amount. The move naturally upset US ranchers. They now need to sell at $100 not $125.55. They now lose.. The imports could provide consumers with some short-term relief, but cheaper foreign beef could also reduce the financial incentive for domestic producers to rebuild their herds. Now, there is one clarification on the math. Eliminating a 26.4% tariff does not automatically make the final price 26.4% lower. If imported beef costs $100 before the tariff, it costs $126.40 after it. Removing the tariff lowers that tariff-inclusive price by about 21%. ($26.4/$126.4 or 20.8%). Foreign suppliers or importers would therefore have to accept a smaller margin to meet the administration’s 25% discount target. That is about 4%, but they get the demand from the US consumer. The consumer does benefit. The US government does not get 26.4% tariff revenue on 300,000 metric tons of beef. Trump is also moving to make it easier for ranchers to process and sell their own beef. That could increase competition with the large meatpackers, but it is not a cost-free solution. Slaughtering, cutting and packaging one animal through a smaller inspected operation is not cheap. Add refrigeration, equipment, inspections, labor, insurance and distribution, and most individual ranchers will struggle to compete with the large processors on price. Moreover, will the large processors raise prices to those that now process their own, adding to the cost for the local rancher?The plan may help ranchers who sell premium local beef directly to consumers (my inkling is they may be doing some of that locally already). However, the more viable solution may be regional facilities or rancher cooperatives that share processing and distribution costs. Will ranchers be inclined to do with all the added costs and work, or is this announcement just Trump's way to make it seem like he is trying to help him ranchers?The bottom line is that additional imports may reduce ground-beef prices temporarily, while expanded local processing could improve competition over time. Neither immediately solves the underlying problem: The US needs more cattle, and rebuilding the herd takes years—not months. What we do know is solving problems can create problems and also that tariffs sound all good when collecting the revenues, but it incentivizes local producers to raise prices, and the consumer pays for that. This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.