Posted on 10/21/2025 8:33:31 PM PDT by Miami Rebel
Many GOP senators raised concerns directly with President Donald Trump on Tuesday about his idea to buy more beef from Argentina, according to four Republicans who attended a lunch hosted at the White House.
The Rose Garden lunch was initially scheduled to celebrate GOP unity on the shutdown and clearing Trump’s nominees, but farm-state Republicans have been on edge after the president announced Sunday that he was considering a deal with one of American ranchers’ biggest competitors in order to lower food prices.
Trump told lawmakers that he was worried about consumer beef prices in the U.S. but also worried about ranchers, according to the three people.
A handful of GOP senators spoke one-on-one Tuesday in different settings with Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to express reservations about the president exploring a deal with Argentina to import beef. However, those officials weren’t on the same page about what the U.S. plans to do.
Depending on which Trump official you talk to about it, “everyone says something different,” said one GOP senator, granted anonymity to speak candidly.
Rollins is expected to clarify the possible agreement later today during a livestock roundtable Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) is hosting, according to two other people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Beef industry groups who have traditionally supported Trump’s trade agenda are also urging the president to reverse course on his Argentina proposal, worried it will undermine the economic viability of their operations.
People on this site constantly discover (or invent!) conspiracies, yet we hear practically nothing of Bessent and Citrone’s careers with Soros.
There’s more going on here than meets the eye. 5 years ago live cattle contracts were $1.06/lb., today they are $2.44/lb. The question is, “what else has contributed to such a huge runup in prices at the store?” The ranchers sure aren’t enjoying the benefit of these increased prices.
He needs to get back to dealing with things here at home, specifically the cost of living. Stop all the happy talk about how grocery prices are down when people can see with their own damn eyes that that's just not true.
Even though thev Democrats are in complete disarray, there are some warning signs out there. They are fired up. Meanwhile, Trump is not getting the glowing poll numbers on the economy he did in his first term. Far from it.
Eggs are still much, much higher than they were not even two years ago.
So much winning!!
If that's true then it makes sense to import beef until conditions improve and livestock matures.
You could make that exception for tons of American businesses.
And if you flood the market with Argentine beef, what incentive would ranchers have to build herds? They’d be losing money on the cattle they already have.
Thanks for that.
EC
The remedies: Ditch the beef tariffs against friendly nations. End policies raising farm prices, such as grain-to-ethanol and blue state aggression against small farms and meat production.
And you’re the Human Pretzel who welcomes them.
Half the tariffs we have in place are against friendly nations. It’s not as though China is unique.
As to grain-to-ethanol and “blue state aggression,” whatever that is, I seriously doubt that they have an impact beyond one so miniscule as to be unquantifiable.
As I stated before, chicken and pork haven’t budged in a decade. People aren’t starving: let them eat those meats rather than punishing American cattlemen.
Yeah I thought it was pretty lame also - especially after the host billed him as having some sort of solution and after a long discussion about the problems faced in the industry, he then concluded with a nothing.
Correct question but does any peon out here have a reasonable answer?
I admit that I have no clue, but there has to be a gummint cockaroach sneaking around in the dark.
Yesterday, my wife bought a 7 pound pork loin for $ 1.98/lb and it makes 18, one inch thick delicious chops.
It was on sale at Shop and Save in western PA.
We eat a lot of deer and since we are almost out, I'm glad it's only a month until deer season {and I have three doe licenses} as I stopped shooting bucks years ago.
I saw prime steak at over $20/pound at Sam's Club and that's not happening for me.
I’d really just like to see the definition of “conservative” return to at least *some* manner of principle. I’d prefer it settle on the definitions I grew up with and have always believed in and lived.
By that, I mean... I have never had a problem with using US wealth as a chess piece in geopolitics but we have to be rational about it. What we’re doing with Argentina is completely irrational. It’s a hackneyed stew of independent nonsense without any sense of cohesion or logic.
I have - and WILL - never apologize for my belief in free trade. It is a cornerstone element of conservatism and I hate people who *call* themselves conservatives now pretending that daddy government should get involved.
But above all? I hate the naked, obvious lies.
“Oh, it’s not a handout, it’s an investment.”
Yeah, BS.
My wife tried to talk me into “investing” in her idiot brother’s failing business. I knew he was going to fail. Any money we “invested” should be looked at more of a gift because we’ll never see a dime back.
In the end - for family peace and because we settled on a number I felt we could afford to lose (and I expected to lose, completely). And sure, sure. We talked about repayment schedules, equity, etc. I tuned it all out. The minute I wrote the check, I knew that money was gone. And shockingly - it was gone. Kept him afloat for another 6 months, but eventually it was gone.
No different that this current nonsense. “Milei is a good guy! One of us! He’s trying!” Great. Give him (my and your) tax dollars. Not going to change the fundamentals. The money will all be lost. It’s just a matter of how long till it is lost.
I wish people would just stop contorting themselves into pretzels, pretending “it’s all good” because DJT says it is.
I voted for him 3 times - and I mean *just* 3 times - because he was better than the alternative. But - that was and forever be all he gets from me. A vote.
We’re a dying breed, sadly.
No party wants us anymore.
People who think government should just stay the hell out of the way are functionally homeless. People who think free markets and capitalism truly *is* a divine gift, that allows each individual to thrive or fail of their own work and choices are increasingly not welcome anywhere.
The leftists just want your money and my money to hand out to the poor, disadvantaged lazy. Now, we live in a world where the predominant “right” wants to *also* hand out yours and my money to people who at least tried or say the right things but still fail.
I suppose the latter is better than the former.... but where is the movement for those of us who worked hard for our money and would prefer to only hand it out based on our OWN analysis?
Argentina has tremendous potential.
Working with the first conservative in decades is worthwhile. Trade with Argentina could be a valuable endeavor worth an investment in a South American nation.
My thoughts don’t rally matter though. The President’s thoughts matter and I will trust his judgement in the matter.
Argentina has had *tremendous* potential for nearly 200 years.
And... Argentina has defaulted *9 times*, including 3 times in the last 25 years.
Look, I like Milei too. If I were Argentinian? I’d go all in on him. But I’m not Argentinian - and despite being a well-slammed “globohomo”, there is absolutely no rational world where they weren’t going to default again.
Call it bad timing if you want - Milei would have gotten more rope coming *off* a default than taking the reigns just prior to (another) one, but let’s not be pollyannas.
Financially - this was the equivalent of putting 40b on 00 on a roulette wheel (except, the payout would be a LOT less). The upside was basically that the US taxpayer not *lose* any money. That’s rapidly becoming a situation you might as well have lit 40 billion on fire.
Aid? Actual “investment”? Hey... again, globohomo here. I could see situations where I’d have supported such a thing, and even been happy to say “Trust that Trump and Bessent are playing the long game.”
The way this happened is NOT that. It was a straight currency swap. It was a low chance bet.
And we’re going to lose it all. I *would* place a good odds bet on that. It’s just a matter of when. Next week? Next month? Next year?
We bought a bunch (a BIG bunch) of Argentinian pesos that will be worthless inside a year.
At this point, the upside is: 1)Cut our losses and just take the (rapidly declining) fire sale returns, 2)*hope* Argentina appreciates the help.
The problem is “cutting our losses” only accelerates the timeline.... Maybe we lose “only” 10%, 20%, (4b, 8b, whatever). The US taxpayer now owns a rapidly sinking to dust asset.
And the *appreciation*? Well... that depends on the eternally messy state of Argentine politics. Another terrible bet.
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