President Donald Trump says that the U.S. should stop importing cattle from other countries to help American ranchers, during the coronavirus pandemic.
President Trump stated, “I read, yesterday, where we take some cattle in from other countries, because we have trade deals. I think you should look at terminating those deals...we have a lot of cattle in this country.”
NCBA CEO Colin Woodall suggested reviewing recently re-opened trade markets, starting with Brazil where foot and mouth disease is still prevalent.
The CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association state, “If he wants to go in and readdress trade, we’d really like him to spend the time focusing on Brazil, because it’s one country that we believe needs a little bit more work before we have normal trade with them.”
Woodall says that the U.S. only imports cattle from Canada and Mexico, and those imports will continue under the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement, which is set to take effect July 1.