(KIWA Staff Photo)Iowa (RI) — Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and all four Iowans serving in the U.S. House are among 53 Republicans in Congress who have signed a letter to President Trump, warning that American farmers and ranchers are facing significant headwinds.
The letter says intervention in the cattle market risks “picking winners and losers” and could undermine the long-term viability of family-owned cattle operations. It does not directly mention Trump’s decision to waive additional tariffs on 660 million pounds of beef imports over the next 90 days to lower ground-beef prices for consumers.
Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, who is running for the U.S. Senate, discussed the issue during her weekly conference call with Iowa reporters Wednesday.
During a stop at the Fair just hours after Trump announced the beef-import plan, Hinson called the move a bad idea. The letter she signed says long-term certainty for the cattle industry can be delivered by fostering existing domestic demand and continuing efforts to expand overseas markets for American beef.
Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Congressmen Randy Feenstra and Zach Nunn also signed the letter. It begins by thanking Trump for his attention to issues impacting consumers, farmers and ranchers, and ends by urging Trump to prioritize proposals thatt deliver long-term market stability and confidence.
The U.S. Justice Department has just announced its anti-trust investigation into soaring beef prices now includes eight major grocery store chains as well as the nation’s four largest meatpackers. The grocery store chains under review include Walmart, Costco, Aldi, and Amazon, which sell beef to Iowans, as well as Kroger, Publix, Albertsons, and a European company that operates stores in other states.
