Texas cattle ranchers support investigation into foreign meat companies

President Donald Trump said on Friday that his administration will investigate the country’s largest “foreign-owned” meat companies to determine if they are engaged in “collusion, price fixing, and price manipulation” that is driving up meat prices for consumers and hurting farmers and ranchers.

“Action must be taken immediately to protect Consumers, combat illegal Monopolies, and ensure these Corporations are not criminally profiting at the expense of the American people,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that was then shared in an announcement on the White House website. “I am asking the DOJ [Department of Justice] to act expeditiously.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi then said on X that an investigation is already underway, with the DOJ’s antitrust division partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In September, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced a joint effort between USDA and the DOJ to look into whether consolidation is causing high costs for farm inputs, but this is the first time the administration has publicly pointed fingers at meatpackers.

Beef prices in grocery stores hit record highs this year due to a drought-driven reduction in the number of cattle raised. That also led to a welcome boost in prices paid to cattle producers, who reacted with fury to a recent administration planto lower retail prices by importing cheaper Argentine beef.

When markets are consolidated, companies can also use price spikes to inflate their profits. While President Joe Biden made cracking down on meatpacker monopolies a core focus of his agricultural policy, the Trump administration has worked to undo many of the actions Biden took that were popular among farm groups.

Over the last few months, Trump withdrew Biden’s initial executive order targeting food system consolidation, and the USDA ended a program launched to help states fight monopolies in agriculture. Trump’s Securities and Exchange Commission also cleared JBS, the largest foreign-owned meat company in the U.S. and the biggest donor to Trump’s inauguration, for listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

“An investigation is a critical first step. But action must follow,” Farm Action President Angela Huffman said in a press statement applauding Trump’s announcement. Farm Action also pointed out Trump made a similar announcement in 2020, but that investigation did not result in any meaningful action. “The DOJ should hold these corporations accountable, break up their monopolistic control, and restore fair competition in America’s beef market,” she said.

Farm Action has been leading the push for another federal policy many believe could help farmers and ranchers compete against global meatpackers: country-of-origin labeling. In October, the organization mobilized its supporters to ask the Trump administration to restore the labeling during a review of a trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, which currently prohibits it.