WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD-TV) — Mexico’s government is pressing for a deal to resume live-cattle exports to the United States after a months-long shutdown over a screwworm outbreak, according to Reuters. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Agriculture Minister Julio Berdegué will travel to Washington next week to meet with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins in hopes of reopening the border, which has been closed to beef imports since May due to an outbreak of the New World Screwworm.
Sheinbaum said Mexico has contained the flesh-eating parasite in the northern state of Nuevo León, though U.S. officials remain cautious. The screwworm, a pest that infests warm-blooded animals, has spread north from Central America over the past year, threatening livestock and straining U.S.–Mexico trade ties. Secretary Rollins has publicly criticized Mexico’s handling of the outbreak, citing ongoing risks to U.S. herds.
In a typical year, the U.S. imports about 1.17 million head of cattle from Mexico (roughly 60 percent of all U.S. live-cattle imports). Last year was even bigger: 1.25 million head valued at around $1.3 billion.
This year, with the mid-May halt in place, imports are running hundreds of thousands of head below 2024 levels—industry tallies estimate 600,000 fewer head year-to-date—leaving feedyards short of traditional supplies. Analysts warn that the disruption is driving up beef prices in the U.S. and placing financial strain on the domestic feeding industry.
USDA’s chief veterinarian said in late May the U.S. could resume imports by year-end if risk controls are validated, but new detections have kept the ban in place. Any reopening will hinge on agreed surveillance, treatment, and port-of-entry protocols to keep the parasite from establishing north of the border.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says she is hopeful next week’s talks will conclude with some agreement. The move comes as Mexico works to build its own sterile fly facility. Reuters reports that the facility is scheduled to be operational by next summer.
The USDA’s plan to grow the domestic cattle herd includes cracking down on country-of-origin labeling to ensure consumers understand exactly where their beef is coming from. R-Calf backs the move but is also asking for more attention to competition.
“Right now, we do not have a competitive market,” said R-Calf CEO Bill Bullard. “Four packers control 80% of the boxed beef market. They are able to interfere with competitive market forces. So, consumers are paying prices that are higher than what a competitive market would otherwise predict. We need to manage imports and restore competition by protecting producers against anti-competitive and unfair practices. Until we do that, we should not expect that we will rebuild our U.S. herd.”
The USDA’s latest plan does address packing, looking to get smaller processors online through grants. When it comes to labeling, USDA says it will begin enforcing all “Product of the U.S.A.” labels, and only beef produced by cattle born, raised, and slaughtered in the u-s will be eligible.
The cattle industry is also concerned about plans to import more beef from Argentina to help lower consumer prices. It comes on the heels of a multi-billion-dollar currency swap with Argentina’s central bank.
The move to help Argentina does not sit well with much of the U.S. ag industry, but Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said it is a double-edged sword -- and a situation he has seen play out before.
“Well, I’m sure American farmers are going to see it as one issue,” Sen. Grassley said. “I see it as two separate issues. I’ve expressed my view that not importing more Argentine beef is wrong. And I think the extent to which the president is trying to stabilize things in Argentina, the same way we did in Mexico in the 1990s, using the same methods, and at the same time encouraging private lending to Argentina to reduce the impact of China in that country, I think, is a worthy goal.”
In a call with reporters this week, Senator Grassley said he opposes any efforts to bring in extra beef from Argentina. The White House has not made any official announcements about importing more foreign meat.
Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) tells us she wants more markets, not imports. In an interview with RFD-TV News on Thursday, she said the move will benefit all ag producers.
“We want to be able to expand markets so we can benefit ag producers instead of looking at importing, again, foreign beef or opening markets, basically, through some of the tariff negotiations for other countries,” Sen. Fischer said. “Let’s focus here on America. Let’s focus on hard-working farmers and ranchers who are looking for markets -- not a check; not assistance.”
On the other side of the aisle, House Ag Committee ranking member, Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) argues that tariffs are holding back market expansion.
“It’s literally squeezing farmers from all sides; I’m truly worried,” Rep. Craig said. “We’ve got bankruptcies up over 50 percent in Minnesota. I come from a family where my grandfather was a farm foreman […] in the 1980s farm crisis, my grandfather lost his job. So, this is all very personal to me. We’re seeing stress in Minnesota among family farmers.”
The high court will hear arguments around the president’s tariff policy early next month. When it comes to China, many analysts believe it is unlikely the country will make any major trade moves until that decision is handed down.
