Brazilian billionaire Joesley Batista, co-owner of meatpacker JBS, met with President Donald Trump on August 20 in the Oval Office to discuss how increasing beef supplies from Brazil could help lower U.S. beef prices if Trump were to reduce the 26% tariff on imports. This meeting occurred just a day before the president announced a plan to waive tariffs on beef imports, a move that has angered U.S. farmers and ranchers. Batista had previously met with Trump in September 2025 to argue that high U.S. tariffs on Brazilian imports were contributing to elevated American beef prices.
The White House announced on August 21 that it would open an additional 300,000 metric tons of tariff-rate quota access specifically for lean beef trimmings. This volume is not awarded to Brazil, JBS, or any other individual country or company. Instead, it is allocated to the existing "other countries or areas" pool and will be divided into three 100,000-metric-ton import windows starting September 1. Beef entering under this WTO quota generally faces a duty of about 4.4 cents per kilogram, significantly lower than the 26.4% for above-quota imports. The full program totals roughly 661 million pounds of potential lower-tariff access.
The timing of Trump's announcement, which coincides with the upcoming mid-term elections, suggests a political motivation aimed at addressing rising food prices and inflation. Trump stated the deal would "substantially lower" beef prices for Americans and allow the U.S. cattle herd time to rebuild, with the imported beef sold at prices 25% below prevailing market levels. The tariff waiver is set to last for 90 days. While the move is favorable for the Brazilian beef industry, especially as their quota for exports to China fills, U.S. cattle farmers, like Colin Woodall of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), have expressed disappointment, arguing that flooding the market with government-subsidized beef sacrifices long-term stability for short-term messaging.
Public shipping records indicate that Brazilian frozen boneless beef, including some cargo connected to JBS, arrived in Houston immediately before and on the day of Trump’s August 21 announcement. For example, a shipment of 61,619 pounds of frozen boneless Brazilian beef with JBS USA Food Company as the consignee arrived on August 20. Another shipment of approximately 57,400 pounds from JBS S.A. arrived on August 21. While these shipments and the Batista family's documented political and business contacts with Trump—including a $5 million contribution from JBS-controlled Pilgrim’s Pride to Trump’s inaugural committee—establish access and commercial interest, there is no public evidence directly linking these shipments to advance knowledge of Trump's tariff decision or a quid pro quo.
