Following recent Democratic victories by candidates running on “affordability”—President Trump has renewed his focus on lowering prices. Unfortunately, one of President Trump’s affordability initiatives comes straight from the Joe Biden-Lina Khan playbook. On November 7, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Justice to investigate meatpacking and distributing firms for “illicit collusion, price fixing, and price manipulation.” The investigation will be led by Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Gail Slater and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.
President Trump’s promise to lower beef prices is sure to be popular. Retail prices for ground beef rose by 12.9% between September 2024 and September 2025 while the price of steaks rose by 16.6%. This compares with a 3.2% increase in general food prices. The increased price of beef is a key reason why the cost of a McDonald’s quarter pounder with cheese has increased by 122%, while that of a Taco Bell beefy 5-layer burrito has increased by 132%! Rising beef prices have also caused many fast food and causal dinning restaurants are serving more chicken dishes and this is one reason (along with the belief they chicken healthier than beef) why chicken has become the most consumed meat in the US.
It is true that four companies (Tysons, Carrol, JBS, and National Beef) control 80-85% of the beef market. However, this does not mean government action ending their “monopoly” will lower the cost of beef. For one thing, these four companies also control the market for pork and poultry—yet prices for those items are not rising as fast as beef prices. Therefore, there must be factors independent of corporate power responsible for the beef inflation.
One of those factors is the drought in areas where cattle ranching is common. Another is high grain prices. Droughts and the high price of grains have caused many farmers to reduce herd size or abandon ranching altogether. As a result, beef supplies are the lowest they have been since 1951. Government action to break up the “beef monopoly” will not address these problems. However, it could further increase prices as breaking up the four dominant companies could introduce inefficiencies into the process of bringing beef from the farm to your table.
This does not mean there is nothing President Trump can do to reduce prices. One thing he can do is continuing reducing tariffs on beef and other food items. President Trump could also help ranchers and farmers by lowering tariffs on farm equipment. Another way President Trump could lower beef prices is by reducing regulations that prevent new competitors from entering the market. These regulations deny consumers choices and keep prices artificially high. President Trump has already signed an executive order directing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to identify regulations that raise prices and restrict competition.
In response to the order, FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson produced a report identifying over 225 anti-competitive regulations that should be repealed. One of them, a Department of Agriculture Forest Service Handbook provision establishing new eligibility and qualification requirements for grazing permits on federal lands, increases the cost of beef by making it harder for new ranchers to obtain permits. The FTC, the Justice Department, and the Agriculture Department should continue identifying and repealing regulations that raise food prices.
Another way President Trump could reduce regulations is to support the PRIME Act (HR 4700). Introduced by libertarian hero Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie, the PRIME Act repeals federal regulations that prohibit small, speciality slaughterhouses from selling their products within their state unless they comply with costly and time-consuming federal inspection regulations. This forces many ranchers to travel hundreds of miles to one of a limited number of federally-inspected slaughterhouses.
The PRIME Act currently has 45 cosponsors. A Senate version has been introduced by Representative Massie’s fellow Kentucky Republican (and champion of liberty) Rand Paul—and Maine independent Angus King. The PRIME Act provides real help to consumers—as well as farmers and ranchers—and takes a step toward restoring federalism. Hopefully President Trump is primed to get past his beef with Representative Massie and Senator Paul and lend his support to this legislation.
