The government of Donald Trump issued a formal statement, released this Friday by the White House, stating that the extraordinary extension of the beef import quota from Argentina responds to an internal need in the United States, related to containing the price of beef for American consumers in a context of a sharp drop in local supply, persistent drought, and health restrictions on imports from Mexico. In the proclamation titled “Ensuring Affordable Beef for the American Consumer” (Ensuring affordable beef for the American consumer), Trump himself explained that his decision is supported by a combination of productive and health factors that significantly reduced the availability of cattle in the United States. The text recalls that “in 2022, the United States faced a widespread and severe drought”, which affected key cattle-raising states such as Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, and that these conditions still persist in some regions. This was compounded by fires in ...