Trump pledges to allow cattle ranchers to process own food amid beef imports backlash

Key Points:

• President Donald Trump has pledged to allow cattle ranchers and farmers to process their own food to address concerns over a monopoly in the meat processing industry and support the agricultural sector.
• The announcement follows backlash from US ranchers and Republican lawmakers after Trump paused tariffs on up to 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef imports, a move criticized for potentially harming domestic producers.
• Trump accused the meat processing industry of being a "nasty monopoly" dominated by four major companies, many with foreign ownership, and promised to authorize legal measures to break this control.
• Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins indicated that regulatory barriers would be reduced to enable farmers to process and sell meat more freely, citing national security concerns about food self-sufficiency.
• However, it remains uncertain if the administration has the authority to implement these changes without congressional approval, as relevant legislation easing USDA inspection requirements is currently stalled.