Live Cattle Futures See Sharpest Monthly Slide In Five Years As Trump’s “Operation Affordability” Begins

Live cattle futures are on track for their steepest monthly decline since the early months of the Covid pandemic, as expectations around President Trump’s Operation Affordability appear to be pressuring prices.

Markets are pricing in Trump’s move to expand beef imports from Latin American countries. This was the news on Thursday, when the administration rolled back tariffs on some Brazilian food imports, including the full 40% levy. 

These changes are retroactive to Nov. 13, cover key goods like beef, coffee, and orange juice, and are intended to ease sticky food inflation left over from the Biden-Harris regime years. This comes ahead of the midterm election cycle. 

Brazil, the world’s largest exporter of coffee and beef, had seen its shipments to the US shrink under the higher tariffs, exacerbating shortages and record food prices.

“What happened is the president said, look, it’s been six months. It’s time. Let’s just wipe the slate clean. If people haven’t made deals with these smaller countries, it’s okay. Let’s cut the price on all these unavailable natural resources, and let’s focus on affordability,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox Business on Thursday, adding, ”The president’s going to focus on the small things that touch the Americans’ pocketbook, and he’s going to bring them all down.” 

Despite the pullback in live cattle futures, prices are still hovering near record highs due to a severe cattle shortage (read here). But if the recent collapse in egg prices is any indication of what happens when the administration targets affordability, a surge in foreign beef could provide a temporary ceiling on beef prices next year.

Important:

• Trump “Worked Magic” On Beef Deal – Likely With Argentina – As Cattle Futures Surge Most Since 1978

• Ground Beef Inflation Sizzles, Egg Prices Cool Off

• 12-Year Cattle Cycle Bottoms: Tyson CEO Predicts Rebuild Phase Beginning Next Year

• Got Beef? 12-Year Cycle Signals “Cyclical Low”

• Trump Targets Foreign-Owned Meatpacking Cartel To Arrest Beef Prices, Defend Small Ranchers

Bad for American ranchers, but good for consumers heading into the midterms. The administration’s affordability push is aimed at countering the spread of Marxism emanating from the Democratic Party, where the radical left continues dangling the promise of free stuff to win voters.