Trump suggests US will buy Argentinian beef to bring down prices for American consumers

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Associated Press

POLITICS
Trump suggests US will buy Argentinian beef to bring down prices for American consumers

BY CHRISTOPHER MEGERIAN
Updated 2:06 AM EDT, October 20, 2025
Leer en español

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States could purchase Argentinian beef in an attempt to bring down prices for American consumers. … “We would buy some beef from Argentina,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One during a flight from Florida to Washington. “If we do that, that will bring our beef prices down.”

Trump promised earlier this week to address the issue as part of his efforts to keep inflation in check.

U.S. beef prices have been stubbornly high for a variety of reasons, including drought and reduced imports from Mexico due to a flesh-eating pest in cattle herds there.

Trump has been working to help Argentina bolster its collapsing currency with a $20 billion credit swap line and additional financing from sovereign funds and the private sector ahead of midterm elections for his close ally, President Javier Milei.

{snip

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/beef-argentina-us-consumers-prices-f7fadbe1b3fef4646f9c3623f901209a

[BeyondGeography]

1. The new head of the US Department of Argentina has spoken

[peppertree]

69. Fun fact: Trump's new ambassador to Argentina is called Lamelas

Which means "lick them" in Spanish.

[mpcamb]

76. Any suspicion about the trump crime family making a bundle on OUR 20B tax $ going to ARG?

[peppertree]

82. There's plenty in Argentina, I can tell you

A lot of it centers around YPF - the state-owned oil and gas concern.

Established in 1922 as the first state-run energy firm in the world, by the 1970s it had grown to cover most of Argentina's oil and gas needs (which are considerable, since they have chilly - though not frigid - winters, and have a high car ownership rate by LatAm standards).

In 1993 it was privatized (for about half its real book value). The gamble worked well at first - until, in '99, it was sold to a shadowy Spanish firm (Repsol) with ties to Mexican narcos.

They nearly ran YPF into the ground - basically using it to take on debts on its credit, which they mostly just pocketed. So in 2012, the center-left Cristina Kirchner administration re-nationalized it.

Since then, YPF's ouput has boomed - mainly thanks to the Vaca Muerta unconventional oil/gas field. And so, British pirates have been trying to get their claws on it ever since, mainly by way of fraudulent lawsuits - which they've mostly won (thanks to the easily-bribed Federalist Society judge Loretta Preska), but can't collect the (majority) stock award on.

That's where Argentines suspect Trump comes in: That Cheeto's lending that cokehead runt Milei money he knows Argentina can't repay - on condition he hand over a majority stake of YPF to him (through cutouts, naturally).

With Trump, as you know, there's always a grift.

[VMA131Marine]

2. Well that will really endear Trump to American agribusiness

Sarcasm, obviously.

[multigraincracker]

4. Bankrupt Farmers For Trump.

[Botany]

6. FAFO dumb ass Trump voting farmers who have already seen Trump kill America's sorghum market to ...

… China collapse in his first term which he cheated to get. I hope they lose everything.

[Deminpenn]

3. That won't help supermarkets that sell only US beef

My local major supermarket sells only US beef. I asked one of the meat section managers why the prices were so high, the manager explained that the US cattle count is the lowest it has been in decades. It's for reasons unrelated to tariffs or competition from imports.

Per NPR

Why has the price gone up?

It's the law of supply and demand. America's beef cattle herd is the smallest in 75 years, in part because of drought. But Americans' love of hamburgers and steaks has kept demand strong — until recently.

In July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture continued to record a shrinking number of U.S. cattle and calves, forecasting that beef production would decline 4% over this year and another 2% in 2026.

Meanwhile, foreign imports are also down. Brazilian beef faces a 76% tariff. Fears about the screwworm parasite have led the USDA to block livestock from crossing from Mexico to the U.S. to safeguard the nation's food supply.

Ranching in America can be a topsy-turvy, break-even or money-losing business, but not right now.

"We've kind of hit this perfect storm," says Brady Blackett, a third-generation Angus cattle producer in Utah. "There's healthy competition for the cattle, and there's not enough of them to fulfill the demand. And so it has driven prices to historic highs."

Link: https://www.npr.org/2025/09/18/nx-s1-5534424/beef-prices-record-high-cost

[Bayard]

39. Not a bad thing

Americans can do with a lot less red meat and cholesterol.

[democratsruletheday]

48. Couldn't agree more. We'll adjust and adapt...

my family is doing so already. We'll get our protein elsewhere. I ate squirrel for dinner last night and it was very good. (my son is a small game hunter in Michigan) Don't knock it till ya try it folks. We'll go out and get a couple deer here in a few weeks for our freezer too. We haven't had steak in months and don't miss it. Like I said.....adjust and adapt on the fly.

[Deminpenn]

65. Don't eat much red meat except for stews and the occassional brisket

but I do like my cheesesteaks now and then and homemade meatballs.

[travelingthrulife]

72. So Brady Blackett says, "Hey, let's gouge them!

[Deminpenn]

83. To be fair, it's just the demand side of supply and demand market

forces. I'm sure there are more years than not where cattle ranchers don't make much, if any, profit.

[multigraincracker]

5. Price of tofu is dropping like a rock.

Healthier than beef.

[questionseverything]

8. I was reading about eating soy beans last night (out of curiosity)

I didn’t know they are poisonous, mature soy beans need to be cooked 10-15 minutes to get rid of poisons. Young soy beans can be eaten raw but only a couple times a week. The commercial beans farmers grow are better for animal feed than for human consumption but even for animals soy should be cooked and not be more than 10 % of diet.

[3Hotdogs]

11. Acorns can be eaten. But they, too have to be boiled. I wanted to try this. I figured I could find enough acorns

on my hikes to get a couple of pounds and proceed with the plan. I was never able to find enough Oaks in one place to gather even a few ounces. This is New Jersey. The wooded areas have Chestnut, various pines, Hickory Beech, (Beeches are now being attacked so there will be fewer of those) Tulip. The Ash trees are all but gone, due to Emerald Ash Borer. There are a few Ash sprouts, here and there. So maybe they will come back.


But anyway, not enough Acorns to make anything with.

[multigraincracker]

28. Make sure they are from White Oaks.

The only kind worth eating.

[eppur_se_muova]

49. Native Americans would place acorns in a basket and anchor them in a stream, so they got a long soaking & washing ...

others dug a pit in the ground, lined it with wood ashes (aka "pot ash"*, which is used to make lye soap), put acorns and ashes on top, then more ashes, and covered it with soil for a few months. The alkaline potassium & sodium carbonates in the ashes leached into the rainwater as it percolated through and so the acorns got a good alkali wash. When food ran low in the winter months, they dug up the acorns and ate them (hopefully after thorough washing!).

With wood ashes and water, you can do the same in your kitchen pretty quickly. Here's a YouTube video (I know, I hate YT videos, but couldn't find a text version -- click on "show transcript" while the playback is off for fast reading). I checked the ingredients of our budget dishwasher powder -- it's almost pure sodium carbonate ("washing soda" ), which could be used in place of pot ash. But be careful to keep it off your hands, and *don't* get any in your eyes ! Only quick, thorough flushing with water can prevent eye damage if that happens.

These processes (hot or cold water, or alkali) remove tannins, which are not only bitter, but toxic. Even the bitterest acorns can be detoxified for human consumption. https://heatherholleman.com/how-we-made-acorn-flour-a-lesson-in-bitterness/

The process is similar to the alkali soak used to convert horn into hominy. This can be done with a variety of alkalis, including lime and even baking soda. The latter is the slowest approach, but certainly the safest. Probably worth trying baking soda and a long soak, or boiling, and see if that removes the bitterness from acorns.



* The element potassium takes its name from the English roots, "pot ash", phonied-up into Latin for respectability by Humphrey Davy, who also gave us sodium, from soda ash. The IUPAC symbol, K, is from al qalīy, an Arabic word meaning ... calcined ashes, the etymological precursor of alkali, which also gives the alternative name Kalium, favored in most of eastern Europe after the suggestion by the German chemist Klaproth, who gave us both kalium and natrium.

[BaronChocula]

58. Acorns - something else on the gopper hate list

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-votes-to-defund-acorn/

[multigraincracker]

25. Pretty sure tofu is ok.

Or everyone in China would be dead. They use to say they were bad for men but that has been dropped.

[eppur_se_muova]

41. Soybeans are actually fairly toxic until cooked. Makes you wonder who figured that out, and how ....

Last edited Mon Oct 20, 2025, 01:54 PM - Edit history (1)

It certainly changed the world we live in, in a big way.

[questionseverything]

55. The soybeans American farmers grow aren't what is used for tofu though

The soy grown for tofu is much milder than the soybeans farmers grow

If starving people try to eat soybeans out of the field, they need to know how to prepare them correctly or get really sick

[multigraincracker]

61. I've eaten them out of farmers fields.

Not many, just a hand full of them. Tasted ok to me and didn’t get sick. Never made tofu from beans, but have been eating more now. Had some at a Chinese restaurant and that got me started. I don’t care for them cooked in a tomato sauce.
I fry it like fish and love it that way. Dip in a beer batter and that is mostly what I taste. Seems they are pretty bland and taste like what you cook it with.

[questionseverything]

63. I'm just repeating what the scientists tell us about soy beans

With 40 million people scheduled to starve in November I am trying to warn folks about the dangers of raw soy because I know if my house hold was starving, I would try cooking soy beans 🫘

[multigraincracker]

66. I buy 14oz blocks in the local grocery store.

Now $1.98. A few months ago they were over $3.00.
Watched a video on how to make it yourself. Didn’t look anything I could do.

[TNNurse]

14. I wish I could eat tofu

but the gas and diarrhea make it intolerable.

[multigraincracker]

26. They are beans. Do you get that from other bean?

May have an allergy.
I use them with my beer batter recipe for fish. Yum.

[eppur_se_muova]

44. Try other brands, or try other soy dishes. If not adequately cooked, soy beans can cause quite a few problems.

The article cited below was written by an RN -- I'll be embarassed if it turns out that's you !

https://www.weekand.com/healthy-living/article/happens-eat-raw-soybeans-18011636.php

Potential Side Effects

Lectins and saponins in raw soybeans can cause acute nausea, gas, abdominal pain, diarrhea or vomiting. In large amounts, ingestion could lead to weight loss, failure to thrive or death. Raw soybeans could cause long-term damage to organs and tissues if you ingest them in large amounts. Lectins in raw soybeans can also cause agglutination, or clumping, in red blood cells, which can lead to hemolytic anemia and jaundice. Several components in raw soybeans, including lectins and saponins, could also affect thyroid function, reports the American Nutrition Association.

If you're still having trouble after cooking the tofu for more than 15 minutes, you may be allergic to the saponins, which don't break down on heating. (Be sure to cut the tofu into thin slices for grilling or broiling, or small chunks or crumbles for boiling or sauteeing, so the heat goes all the way through.)

Fermentation is supposed to help remove saponins, so try tempeh (if you can find it). It makes a great grilled meat substitute -- my favorite sub sandwich. Miso is another fermented soy product, but it's typically used to add flavor, not as a bulk ingredient.

I read elsewhere that once soybeans germinate, some of these toxins break down. Try soy bean sprouts and see if they're OK. (If you buy "bean sprouts" in a can, they're likely mung beans, not soy. Check with an Asian grocery.)

I've never had any problems w/tofu, so I'm sad to see anyone having problems that would keep them away from some of my favorite recipes. I never buy meat any more, and have not been much bothered by the egg shortage (golden flax meal is the go-to for all recipes that call for egg, except meringue, and you have aquafaba for that.)

[get the red out]

78. Tofu is useful

I would be lost without it at this point. I still eat meat on occasion but I usually don't want it, it feels quite heavy in my stomach.

[slightlv]

7. Well, that's really going to help the American Ranchers and Farmers...

too bad, so sad, I guess. America's breadbasket rotting in the fields and no more cattle bought by ranchers. Buying and keeping them alive as pets is not in their DNA.

[James48]

9. So- Central government planning?

I guess Argentinian Beef with be on the Komisar’s five year plan.

This is more like Russia and China every day.

[mackdaddy]

10. This will screw all of the cattle farmers, but also the grain farmers who grow the food for these animals.

But propping up their right winger in Argentina and the rich wall street investors who have money on the line is more important than a bunch of farmers.

How many times did these people listen to trump drone on about the snake story biting its savior and not believe it.
"You knew I was a snake".

[jeffreyi]

37. Hay prices are in the tank, also.

At least where I live. High quality orchardgrass horse hay, organic alfalfa dairy hay, all of it.

[The Madcap]

12. Pork and chicken

Are quickly becoming the only meat options in the U.S.

[IronLionZion]

19. RFK Jr may suggest bear, whale, worms, bugs, etc.

throw in some squirrels and opossums too. Let's open some American wildlife wet markets like in China.

[Ocelot II]

51. Roadkill. Raccoons haven't figured out cars yet.

[The Madcap]

70. A step up from skunks and armadillos.

Side benefit: You can make a hat from a skunk or a helmet from an armadillo.

[obamanut2012]

13. I called that last week

[Baitball Blogger]

15. Doesn't Congress have to sanction the bailout

To Argentina?

[Javaman]

16. if there is one powerful lobby group that won't put up with this shit, it's the beef lobby. nt

[Javaman]

17. and comes with free screw worms! nt

[IronLionZion]

18. I'm sure that's going over well with the American cattle and beef industry

MAGA!

[twodogsbarking]

20. Wind up the old "eating cats and dogs" story again.

[twodogsbarking]

21. Tough it out folks, I'm going golfing. DJT

[bronxiteforever]

22. So billions of dollars to them & we STILL buy their beef

POTUS is a master deal maker.

[Prairie Gates]

24. The billions so far pay the Wall Street bond holders...this purchase pays the Wall Street agribusiness investors

Trump just funneling the whole Treasury to various Argentina creditors while trying to prop up economic failure Javier Miele.

Good Lord.

[Deuxcents]

81. Yep, bronxite. Give with one hand, take with the other and we're not supposed to notice.

[no_hypocrisy]

23. And the American Secretary of Agriculture is chill with this?

[markodochartaigh]

31. Earl Butz told US farmers and ranchers to

"Get big or get out". They got over it. The ones that are left that is.

[Attilatheblond]

52. Earl Butz made sure the price of bread went thru the roof

And didn't he do some profoundly unwise deal with Russia? Will go down that memory hole later when I have more time, fewer chores.

[markodochartaigh]

53. Ha!

The "Great Grain Robbery". The grain sale to the USSR was done in such a way that it allowed grain speculators to make a huge profit and increased the price for huge corporate farms. Of course, the US consumer shouldered the cost.

[Attilatheblond]

57. Yep, it's coming back to me now

Seem to recall Russia offered to pay for the gain in gold, but Butz wanted US dollars instead.

Some shady shit went down.

[Eugene]

27. America first?

I don't think MAGA will like this.

[Easterncedar]

32. I don't think Magats pay attention to the news

[durablend]

43. MAGA doesn't care as long as some lib got it stuck to them

[bucolic_frolic]

29. Will the plunging US dollar cooperate?

I wonder if it's not pure fantasy.

[markodochartaigh]

30. If

Trump really wanted to bring beef prices down for US consumers he would have the meat processed in Argentina and imported to the US in its final form. But that would hurt the big slaughterhouse corporations.

[eppur_se_muova]

45. OR keep ICE away from the meat packing plants. They're really hurting production. nt

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/immigration-toll-on-local-economies-what-the-data-says/

* In Ottumwa, Iowa, 200 workers at a meatpacking plant who had legal status under the Biden administration had to be terminated after Trump stripped their status.

* In Omaha, Nebraska, after a DHS raid in a meatpacking plant where half the employees were arrested, recruitment plummeted, and the plant had to cut back on production at a time when ground beef prices are already rising.

Critically, when hiring their employees, many of the employers in this situation had used E-Verify—an internet-based system that compares information entered by an employee on an I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form with U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) records. These employers audited their workforce using E-Verify and believed that they were in compliance with immigration law. However, the White House recently stated that employers who rely on E-Verify and the I-9 process to check their employees for legal status are being “reckless.” This has left small businesses across the country with no clarity on the appropriate process to ensure compliance or how best to avoid being a target for DHS or ICE worksite enforcement actions.

[markodochartaigh]

50. After high school

I worked in a huge factory slaughterhouse for a year and a half to make money for college. In order for the US to staff slaughterhouses with US born workers the unemployment rate would have to be at least 10%. It would take that amount of desperation in the workforce to generate enough workers for the slaughterhouses.

[Clouds Passing]

33. Now the notsee is screwing the ranchers, another land grab.

[turbinetree]

34. Let me guess.................this is his plan...............

[70sEraVet]

35. Have I got this right?

So, if we buy a product that is grown in a country that is run by a leader that Trump likes, it is good for the American consumer -- like Argentinian beef.
But, if a country is run by a leader Trump does NOT like, that country must be hit with HUGE tariffs, in spite of it being bad for consumers -- like Brazilian coffee!
It reminds me of what I didnt like about high school -- everthing was a popularity contest.

[AllaN01Bear]

36. arnt we in a debit? where are we going to get the money?

[Uncle Joe]

40. Sell a bunch of soybeans to Argentina, the last I heard we weren't selling to China anymore.

[eppur_se_muova]

38. Well, at least we're getting some soybeans back -- after a huge value-added markup.

Of course, I'm sure they were grown in Argentina, so no help.

(Soy beans are added to cattle feed after corn has done all it can. Cattle can't gain weight any faster without the soy.)

[Bayard]

42. trump doesn't care

We pay for his Big Mac's anyway.

[3825-87867]

46. Hello!???

To those of you thinking this has ANY benefit because of any imagined health benefits, just to remind you ALL....we're buying their beef with OUR tax money and giving them 40 billiion or our tax money, also, to help an economy the Heritage Foundation fucked up Argentina 20 years ago and installed a dictator, who trump likes, when they test ran Project 2025 there first.
Brilliant!

[Renew Deal]

47. This will not go over well with American "farmers"

[ret5hd]

54. Trump Tower Buenos Aires...

bet the site is already picked.

[peppertree]

73. You're not kidding. They almost pulled it off in Nov. 2016 - but the reformist Buenos Aires mayor wouldn't approve it

And then the Argentine economy tanked - thanks to Trump's pal Macri (Mr. "Pro-business" ).

That guy's cousin, is now the mayor - but in this economy, hardly anything new over 10 stories is being built.

The parking lot? Still there.

[mdbl]

56. I won't buy it.

[peppertree]

80. The amounts are such - that restaurants buy it all up before it could reach any store shelves

Like all things Trump, there's a great deal of exaggeration in his promises (if there's any follow-through at all).

Which is a shame really, in this one case...

[Vogon_Glory]

59. This latest twist ought to make Texas cattlemen happy

I drive a lot of miles on US 183 and US 84 and drive by a lot of ranches. A lot of them were festooned with Trumpie campaign signs and Trumpie banners.

Well, Donald John gave them their reward.

Alas, my sympathy is in short supply.

[Aristus]

60. Don't expect cattle ranchers to jump the fence (so to speak).

I'm sure they share a pathology with the rest of the lower orders. Whatever their current ridiculous grievance against the administration, they will follow it with "I still support Trump because he's doing good things for the country!"

They can't help themselves. The dirt is too deeply ingrained...

[peppertree]

74. Remember, in '98, when they sued Oprah after she aired a video clip showing REVOLTING slaughterhouse conditions?

The Cattlemen's Assoc. claimed they lost some relatively minor amount of money - and (of course), Rash Lumpballs turned it into another culture war flashpoint.

They lost - in an Amarillo court! - and Farce News caterwauled all day as to how "this would destroy the beef industry - the pride of America!"

And now? Crickets.

Trump could bomb their cattle ranches, and they'd still justify him.

[Blue Full Moon]

62. Should be free. We paid 40 billion dollars

[Vinca]

64. Hear that you farmers who voted for Trump? But, maybe it's a good thing since you probably can't

afford to feed the poor creatures while you're in the bankruptcy process.

[Ford_Prefect]

67. He can't buy Greenland, so he's gonna do Argentina instead?

If we look close enough, l'm sure we'll find he's got a few "cousins" living there.

However, the real movers behind this plan are Treasury Secretary Bessent and his billionaire patron Rob Citrone.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/09/trump-argentina-bailout-hedge-fund-billionaire-rob-citrone-scott-bessent/

[red dog 1]

68. What does Argentina have that he wants?

Trump suggests US will buy Argentinian beef to bring down prices for American consumers
Story by CHRISTOPHER MEGERIAN

But...but....America First?

40 billion to Argentina, now buying beef from Argentina

M aking
A rgentina
G reat
A ssholes

You got suckered.

What does Argentina have he wants?

— Lakelife🐢🧸🇺🇸🇺🇲🇲🇽🇨🇦🇺🇦🇬🇧🇬🇱🇦🇺🇵🇦 (@king-ebeneezer.bsky.social) 2025-10-20T08:44:45.096Z

[PCB66]

71. I prefer American beef

However, the best steak I ever had in my life was in Argentina. Just saying.

That was at a very exclusive high end restaurant so I doubt that quality will be exported to the US.

What we will probably get are two notches down from American and a two notches up from Mexican. If we are lucky.

[durablend]

75. We'll be lucky if it doesn't have E-coli and the other tasty flavors

[global1]

77. Argentine Should Tack On A Hefty Tariff On This Beef And.....

give Tr**p a taste of his own medicine.

[sakabatou]

79. The guy who bankrupted his own casinos knows how to do economics!