President Donald Trump’s tariffs should be on the radar of every agriculture producer in the U.S. Our country is not only the top producer of beef at 12.1 million metric tons annually, but also the top importer of beef, consuming 12.7 metric tons annually. There are hundreds of other ag commodities that rely on trade, of course, but beef is on my radar.

One of the countries at the top of the beef tariff list is Australia, which is one of the countries that imports no American beef, a result of a 2003 restriction following a North American outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease. Our country, however, imports $4.8 billion in Australian beef annually, making the U.S. Australia’s largest beef market.

Japan, Mexico, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia and South Korea halted imports of U.S. beef in 2003. Japan reduced its U.S. beef imports to nearly zero in 2004, a huge decrease from the year prior when the U.S. boasted 46.4% of Japan’s beef imports. It has since reclaimed its market share in Japan and it’s notable it was Australia that supplied beef to Japan during the mad cow outbreak years.

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U.S. beef exports to and imports from Mexico are relatively balanced, which is unusual. In 2004, Mexico was one of the few countries that didn’t restrict imports of U.S. beef. Mexico remained the country’s top importer for several years, until other countries reopened their borders to U.S. beef. In the U.S., beef carcasses were long shipped hanging and sent to processors located far from the main fat cattle supply hubs. Kenny Monfort changed that in the 1970s when he began shipping retail-ready boxed beef rather than carcasses. Adopting the boxed beef system also allows specific retail cuts to be sent to the target markets. Tongue, as I’ve written before, isn’t terribly popular here, but can add $40 per carcass when shipped to the Japanese market. After all, they can’t all be choice ribeyes. Just as that changed the U.S. beef business, when Mexico did the same in the 2000s, Mexico’s standing as a beef exporter increased and they became a bilateral trade partner with the U.S.

Russia continues to snub U.S. beef, while Brazil exports beef to the U.S. with our borders among the few that didn’t close when BSE was found in Brazilian cattle. In 2024, the U.S. imported $1.09 billion of meat and edible offal from Brazil, which translated to a 52% increase year over year. This is the source of much consternation among some U.S. producers, but the standard, oversimplified answer is U.S. beef producers are unable to produce enough grind, or lower-quality cuts, to meet the drive-thru demand.

Brazil is also home to JBS Foods, which operates nine facilities in the U.S., including in Colorado. As the largest beef producer in the country and second largest poultry and pork producer, JBS provides 206 million servings of protein to consumers daily. The company is often in the headlines for their ties to the billionaire Batista brothers who are the company’s principal shareholders and occasional inmates. If Taylor Sheridan isn’t planning a spinoff about multinational meatpacking corporations, he’s missing the boat.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association released a statement about tariff announcements saying, “For too long, America’s family farmers and ranchers have been mistreated by certain trading partners around the world. President Trump is taking action to address numerous trade barriers that prevent consumers overseas from enjoying high-quality, wholesome American beef. NCBA will continue engaging with the White House to ensure fair treatment for America’s cattle producers around the world and optimize opportunities for exports abroad.”

In addition to unequal tariffs in Australia, NCBA cited how Vietnam places a 30% tariff on U.S. beef while Australian beef faces no such tariff; Thailand places a 50% tariff on U.S. beef; Brazil and Paraguay have a history of dangerous foot-and-mouth disease, but despite overwhelming evidence of their animal health risk, the Biden administration continued to allow U.S. market access to Brazil and Paraguay; and the European Union places numerous non-scientific “Green Deal” restrictions on American beef, limiting market opportunities.

Not being an economist or fortune teller, I don’t know the extent of risks to the economy. However, it’s a negotiation chip that could work and for nearly all, the tariffs are equal to or less than the tariffs the U.S. pays. At the crux when it comes to food, the U.S. produces a safe, abundant, and affordable supply and it is fair trade U.S. producers need.

Rachel Gabel writes about agriculture and rural issues. She is assistant editor of The Fence Post Magazine, the region’s preeminent agriculture publication. Gabel is a daughter of the state’s oil and gas industry and a member of one of the state’s 12,000 cattle-raising families, and she has authored children’s books used in hundreds of classrooms to teach students about agriculture.