In the wake of President Donald Trump signaling support for increasing low-tariff beef imports from Argentina to remedy record beef prices, Wyoming’s lone U.S. House delegate introduced a bill to require country of origin labeling.
If it becomes law, the Country of Origin Labeling Enforcement Act would reinstate the labeling requirements for beef and raise fines for those falsely labeling their beef as made in the U.S.A.
The bill also dictates that no ruling from an international body, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), could impact America’s ability to require the labels.
Congress implementing country of origin labeling for products, including beef, in the early 2000s, but removed the beef requirement in 2016 after the World Trade Organization deemed it in violation of its rules.
U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyoming, announced the reintroduction of legislation requiring the labeling on Friday – alongside other Republicans and a Democratic representative from California.
U.S. Rep. Rho Khanna, D-California, linked his co-sponsorship of the bill to Trump’s maneuver, in a joint Friday press release.
Hageman did not. She emphasized instead a need for transparency in the marketplace.
“American consumers deserve accurate information on the products they buy, and U.S. ranchers deserve honest and fair competition in the marketplace,” said Hageman in a statement.
The World Trade Organization’s ruling and the nation’s abandonment of the labeling requirement for beef in 2016 elevated monopolistic big packers’ profit margins at the expense of the American rancher, she said.
‘Hallelujah’
Wyoming ranching leaders reacted differently to the news.
“Hallelujah,” said state House Speaker Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, in a Friday phone interview with Cowboy State Daily.
Neiman is also a rancher.
“America is the best at providing clean, healthy animals here,” he said . “We have better protocols, better systems – everything.”
Neiman voiced disapproval of Trump’s expressed favor toward increasing Argentinian imports. That and other market manipulations, he said, are only de-incentivizing Americans from raising beef, and eroding the market altogether to a point of concerning reliance on other countries for food security.
Because of Trump’s Argentina comments, “We’re moving our sale date up to capitalize on some of these really good prices for our product, and we’ve got expenses,” he said. “We’re fighting inflation, equipment costs, fuel costs, all these different things.”
The price of beef may plummet with an influx of imported beef, said Neiman, yet, “I don’t see the price of tractors going down.”
Neiman said the market should be transparent with country of origin labeling, but otherwise left alone to self-correct through supply and demand cycles.
Don’t Support That
Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, said the group has not actively worked for mandatory country of origin labeling. It supports, rather, voluntary country of origin labeling – but the said the “Made in USA” label should only be allowed if the product was American born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the U.S.
Magagna said he supports the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rule to tie those requirements to the use of the “Made in USA” label.
The rule, finalized in 2024, is slated to take effect Jan. 1, 2026.
Requiring country of origin labeling, however, “is just more government in our lives,” said Magagna. It also could have unintended consequences, such as another finding that it violates international trade agreements, and friction with other countries, he noted.
Beef supply is down right now and Americans can sell it, but cutting off foreign beef importation prospects altogether won’t be feasible in all market phases, he said.
Magagna also said he wants to learn more about Trump’s maneuver.
“We know he said he wants to foster imports to Argentina to help drive down the price of beef for the consumer,” said Magagna. “But to date we’ve not found anything that says how he’s going to do that.”
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
