{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://salinas.house.gov/media/press-releases/salinas-brown-costa-lead-letter-criticizing-trumps-argentina-beef-bailout-and", "Salinas, Brown, Costa Lead Letter Criticizing Trump\u2019s Argentina Beef Bailout and Attack on US Ranchers", "2025-11-12", "2025", "2025-11", "Democrat", "House", "OR", "Andrea Salinas", "S001226", "salinas.house.gov", "salinas", "https://salinas.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "The Brown-Costa letter was signed by 52 members of the House of Representatives.\n\nThe members\u2019 letter highlights the Administration\u2019s pattern of economic mismanagement and misplaced priorities \u2014 bailing out Argentina\u2019s government while destabilizing American cattle markets and leaving U.S. producers to deal with higher input costs and drought. Recent comments from the President about importing more Argentine beef triggered multiple \u201climit down\u201d days in U.S. cattle futures, costing American ranchers millions.\n\nThe members write, \u201cThe past few weeks in the beef industry perfectly capture this Administration\u2019s approach to policy: make big claims, hurt American producers, inject volatility into the marketplace, and do nothing to lower prices for everyday Americans.\u201d\n\nThe text of the letter is copied below:\n\nAmbassador Jamieson Greer\n\nU.S. Trade Representative\n\nOffice of the U.S. Trade Representative\n\n600 17th St., NW\n\nWashington, DC 20250\n\nDear Secretary Rollins and Ambassador Greer,\n\nIn recent weeks, the President\u2019s repeated statements about lowering U.S. beef prices by importing more beef from Argentina have destabilized U.S. cattle markets. These comments have contributed to multiple limit down days in the futures market, which are directly due to the President\u2019s insistence on dictating policy through social media. While this volatility may not concern the billionaires the President often prioritizes, it does have real consequences for ranchers who are bringing their animals to market. We write to you today to express our concerns.\n\nFarmers and ranchers weathered difficult years during the pandemic and have only recently begun to recover and recoup their losses. The market fundamentals are clear: cattle herds have been restricted because of drought and high supply costs[1], leading to U.S. cattle inventory hitting its lowest point in decades.[2] That limited supply, combined with strong consumer demand, has naturally led to higher beef prices. Consumer demand for beef in America remains high, and supply is low; this is basic economics. The path to rebuilding herds and stabilizing prices is straightforward; it requires time, sound policy, and partnership with producers to grow domestic supply. Responsible governance demands patience and collaboration, not impulsive tweets or one-off imports from nations led by the President\u2019s political allies.\n\nThe Administration\u2019s support for Argentinian beef is a blatant political attempt to prop up Argentina\u2019s extremist leader. This all comes on the heels of bailing out the Argentinian economy at the expense of U.S. farmers and ranchers and amid a government shutdown where the Administration is deliberately choosing to help foreign leaders while refusing to feed Americans at home. These actions have made it abundantly clear that the administration\u2019s priorities lie in helping other countries rather than feeding Americans or supporting American farmers and ranchers.\n\nThe President\u2019s approach is to undercut U.S. producers by importing enough beef to lower prices. This method will directly undermine American cattle producers, forcing more out of business and increasing our dependence on a foreign supply. In response to the President\u2019s remarks, on October 20th, the United States Cattlemen\u2019s Association commented in part, \u201cgovernment intervention is not needed in an industry that is already correcting in response to years of market pressure. Today\u2019s comments alone triggered an immediate reaction in the markets\u2014cattle futures dropped significantly. It\u2019s important to underscore: the current price of beef on grocery store shelves reflects the true, inflation-adjusted cost of raising cattle in America today. USCA supports affordable food prices for American families. But we do oppose policies or loopholes that manipulate the market to address a solution that will be solved through natural market behavior. This approach weakens our industry\u2019s foundation and undermines rural America.\u201d[3]\n\nAdditionally, the National Cattlemen\u2019s Beef Association said in response to the announcement, \u201cNCBA\u2019s family farmers and ranchers have numerous concerns with importing more Argentinian beef to lower prices for consumers. This plan only creates chaos at a critical time of the year for American cattle producers, while doing nothing to lower grocery store prices\u201d[4]. Argentina is our 8th largest import market for beef, quadrupling the imports based on 2024 numbers would move them up to 6th.[5] The administration\u2019s claim that this will lower beef prices is wrong; imports only provide roughly 18% of American beef consumption, and Argentina is a small portion of that.[6] The only thing that this has done is introduce uncertainty into the marketplace and cost American cattle producers money.\n\nThe past few weeks in the beef industry perfectly capture this Administration\u2019s approach to policy: make big claims, hurt American producers, inject volatility into the marketplace, and do nothing to lower prices for everyday Americans.\n\nThe Administration must ensure that any future actions reflect sound market principles, strengthen domestic production, and support the farmers and ranchers who feed this nation. Farm groups have publicly expressed their concern with the approach, with the American Farm Bureau urging \u201cthe Administration to carefully consider the damage importing more beef and cattle from other countries will have as cattle farmers decide whether to invest in rebuilding America's herds. Just the mention of beef imports created more instability and uncertainty for America\u2019s farmers. Flooding markets with foreign-grown beef could affect our nation\u2019s ability to be food independent in the long term.\u201d[7]\n\nThe Administration should not stand with foreign governments and against America\u2019s cattle producers, and make clear that U.S. agriculture trade policy will not be short-sighted political calculations.\n\n[SIGNATURES]", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://salinas.house.gov/media/press-releases/salinas-brown-costa-lead-letter-criticizing-trumps-argentina-beef-bailout-and"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0182480327785015, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}