By Douglas V. Gibbs
President Trump has asked for the whole beef situation to be looked into. He signed two executive orders, the first calling for a 90-day review of policies affecting ranchers, and the second focusing on competition, processing capacity, and interstate sales of federally inspected meat. He understands that a large part of the beef industry’s challenges and high prices is tied to supply and demand. That’s why he gave a tariff-free beef deal to Brazil and Argentina. It was all about getting beef prices down by increasing supply while he works on bringing back American beef.
Domestically, the problem is many-fold. The large meat processors have created a competition problem, and many government policies have created not only an increase of a cost of doing business, but obstacles that stand in the way of getting meat to consumers. In short, between the meatpackers and the government, there are too many obstacles between beef producers and consumers. So, the Trump administration is working to eliminate the obstacles while creating an environment that benefits consumers.
One of the results, if things go as planned, will be providing the opportunity for ranchers to process, package, and sell meat without the over-regulation or requirements to deal with massive meat-packing companies across state lines – while still making sure food-safety standards are maintained.
President Trump has directed the Agriculture Department to expand investigations into possible Packers and Stockyards Act violations, and has directed the Department of Justice to look into potential antitrust cases. The plan is to eliminate the bottleneck that exists between the rancher and the market. Let the free market do its thing. Encourage direct competition and create an avenue for getting beef to market without all of the unnecessary obstacles and additional costs that don’t exist for any reason other than adding cost to the process.
The key is always unleashing free market principles. Managed deregulation and allowing the market to do its thing without government overly imposing itself into the process always results in prosperity and a thriving market. President Trump understands that, and that is why these reviews and directions by Trump are happening. He recognizes that beef prices are too high, and the reason is largely due to leftist policies that handcuff the market, and rewards massive corporate meat-packers. Get corporate obstacles out of the way, get government out of the way, and let the ranchers do what they do best – produce beef, and bring it to market.
— Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
