Days after hinting at a “deal” to reduce runaway beef prices, President Donald Trump of the United States on October 19, 2025 suggested economical sourcing from Argentina.
According to the Associated Press, the president said aboard Airforce One in Florida that “we would buy some beef from Argentina.”
The suggestive remark qualified his earlier “deal” mention on October 16 after hosting Argentina’s President Javier Milei in Washington D.C.
Talks included swapping a US$20-billion credit line to rescue the extreme devaluation of Argentina’s legal tender in exchange of trade favors.
Soon after the White House meet with Milei, Trump had admitted to newsmen that efforts to close beef inflation hadn’t paid off.
Runaway Prices Raise Sales
Indeed, beef rates in the United States have escalated in 2025 due a steep cattle population decline and lowering imports from Mexico.
Retail ground beef hit $5.98 a pound or 16% up yearly in May 2025, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Hence, the dollar value of sales has surged as packers try to bring red meat to consumers at elevated rates.
In August 2025, retail ground beef sales clocked $1.7 billion or 13% above August 2024’s, according to Peter Thomas Ricci of Meatingplace.
Ricci quoted CoBank to the effect that packers are limiting production growth to bridge demand but are cashing in on unit rates.
Unlike the declining beef herd, the dairy herd is peaking to its highest level in three decades. Hence, many farmers are capitalizing on the beef-on-dairy revenue advantage, according to Ricci.
This could however change with the likely deal with Argentina, whose second biggest external beef market remains the United States. Argentina normally enforces a quota that the United States can purchase, above which higher tariffs count in. The following stats focus further on the South American country’s beef sector.
Argentina Beef Statistics
Argentina is the world’s 6th biggest beef-producing nation at 3.18 million tonnes or 5% world share (2024-25). This is according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) foreign production report. The South American nation also comes 6th in global beef exports, at $7.2 billion, as of 2024-25. 2024’s total export volume hit 768,000 tonnes, worth US$3.02 billion, a 12.5% increase from 2023’s. Historically, foreign beef shipments have represented 15 to 25% of the national beef output. Contrary to beef shipments, national live cattle exports enjoyed a multi-decade ban from 1973 to February 2025.
How much beef does the U.S. buy from Argentina?
According to the Argentine Beef.org, the United States buys 4,300 tonnes of beef cuts from Argentina per month (June 2024). This is the second highest quantity of any foreign market after China. In June 2024, the U.S. also accounted for 11% of forex earnings for Argentina from beef, with China on top with 55% share.
Does Argentina charge a high tariff on beef exports?
Argentina usually offers a low tariff quota to trading partners but raises the duty substantially upon exhausting the quota. Before 2023, the universal beef export tariff was 9% but currently stands at 6.75%.
Which are Argentina’s main export beef cuts?
Frozen boneless cuts account for 64% of export value beef from Argentina while bone-in cuts make up 9.4% (June 2024). China exclusively leads bone-in cut imports, including forequarter blocks and bone in flank, with 70 to 80% of imports being cow parts.