President Donald Trump has called on the Justice Department to open an investigation into the meatpacking industry, accusing it of “driving up the price of beef through illicit collusion, price fixing and price manipulation.”
“I am calling on the DOJ to act quickly,” Trump said Friday on social media. “Action must be taken immediately to protect consumers, combat illegal monopolies, and ensure these companies do not criminally profit at the expense of the American people. »
Shares of the world’s largest meat processor, JBS NV, fell 6.2% following Trump’s comments, while shares of Tyson Foods Inc. fell 2% before paring losses to rally.
The high cost of living dominated voters’ concerns this week in off-year elections, propelling Democrats to victory over Trump’s Republicans in elections across the country. Polls showed that voters gave Trump poor marks for his handling of the economy, and his advisers subsequently pledged to put more emphasis on affordability.
Beef is Trump’s latest target to curb food inflation, as retail prices for ground beef hit record highs. The U.S. cattle herd has declined precipitously as ranchers face high interest rates, expensive feed and droughts. Rebuilding the herd will take years.
Yet Trump has sought to place blame on large companies that process beef for consumers.
“While cattle prices have fallen significantly, the price of canned beef has increased. So you know something is “fishy”. We will come back to this very quickly. If there is criminality, those responsible will pay a heavy price! Trump wrote in a later post.
Read more: Trump sparks rare GOP pushback with Argentine beef purchases
The president’s handling of meat prices has drawn backlash from his farm-state allies, who say his plan to quadruple the tariff-free quota on Argentine beef risks hurting U.S. farmers.
Trump’s decision to impose 50% tariffs on products from Brazil due to diplomatic disputes also affected their beef exports. JBS and another meat giant, Minerva SA, are based there.
