WASHINGTON (DTN) -- The American Farm Bureau Federation on Thursday called on President Donald Trump to roll back the additional 300,000 metric tons of beef imports authorized by his administration. The group cited new data showing little change in retail ground beef prices since the lower-tariff imports began entering the United States.

AFBF tracked prices for 80% lean ground beef at 41 grocery stores in 22 states beginning Sept. 2. The average price fell 16 cents per pound, or about 2%, from $7.29 on Sept. 2 to $7.13 on Sept. 23, according to the organization's analysis.

The data collection began one day after the Trump administration's temporary expansion of the tariff-rate quota for lean beef trimmings took effect. The Aug. 21 proclamation increased the in-quota quantity by 300,000 metric tons, or about 661 million pounds, over 90 days.

"America's farmers and ranchers are renewing their call to the president to reverse course on his plan to import foreign-raised beef. While we appreciate Mr. Trump's goal of reducing grocery costs for America's families, increasing beef imports has not brought prices down," said AFBF President Zippy Duvall.

Three weeks into the order, USDA has not yet released data showing how much foreign beef has entered the country. Those data are often released a few weeks after collection.

Farm Bureau's report comes hours after Politico reported possible beef import rollbacks are being considered by the White House Domestic Policy Council. Both the White House and U.S. Trade Representative denied the report.

Representatives Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, and Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., also introduced the Banning External Entry of Foreign Beef (BEEF) Act on Wednesday. The bill would suspend the import proclamation, require congressional approval for future import actions, direct USDA to retain breeding cattle and establish a four-year advisory board on beef resupply.

Since Trump's proclamation, Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala., had been the only legislator to introduce legislation to reverse Trump's decision, doing so on Sept. 2.

SAFETY LEVER

The beef import proclamation includes a provision that could allow the administration to eliminate the additional quota, and AFBF is advocating for its use.

The proclamation allows the president to eliminate the remaining increased quota if the agriculture secretary and U.S. trade representative determine that beef entering under the additional quota is not being sold at a price 25% below the market price for lean beef trimmings.

"If the Secretary of Agriculture and the Trade Representative determine that imports entering under the increased in-quota quantity established in this proclamation are not being sold at a price that is 25 percent below the market price for lean beef trimmings, the Secretary and the Trade Representative shall immediately notify me, so that I may determine whether to eliminate what remains of the increased in-quota quantity established in this proclamation," the proclamation states.

AFBF collected the price data through its own survey.

Other beef retail data by the USDA indicates the average price for conventional fresh 80%-89% lean ground beef in 1- to 2-pound packages at $6.50 per pound, up 45 cents from the previous week and roughly unchanged from the same period last year. This report was based on data from 4,213 retail locations.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis data also pegged the average price of 100% ground beef in the Midwest at $6.77 per pound, and $6.92 nationally as of Sept. 11.

DTN reached out to USDA and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative for comment on AFBF's request and what data would be sufficient to trigger the provision in the proclamation. Neither agency responded before publication.

AFBF said its analysis of USDA data over the summer showed losses for cattle producers ranging from about $250 to nearly $500 per head between June 26 and Aug. 28.

For 500- to 600-pound cattle, the analysis showed the largest loss at $453 per head, according to Farm Bureau.

"To put it simply, the plan undercut a fragile recovery in the cattle industry while failing to benefit consumers," Duvall said.

For more, see:

-- Farm Bureau: Increased Beef Imports Have Not Lowered Prices For Consumers: https://www.fb.org/…

-- The Banning External Entry of Foreign Beef (BEEF) Act

https://nunn.house.gov/…

Jake Zajkowski can be reached at jake.zajkowski@dtn.com

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