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The US has launched a probe into whether meatpacking companies are fixing prices, as Donald Trump’s administration comes under increasing pressure over affordability.
“I have asked the [justice department] to immediately begin an investigation into the Meat Packing Companies who are driving up the price of Beef through Illicit Collusion, Price Fixing, and Price Manipulation,” the president said in a post on Truth Social on Friday afternoon.
“We will always protect our American Ranchers, and they are being blamed for what is being done by Majority Foreign Owned Meat Packers,” Trump wrote.
His remarks come as the White House grapples with the results of off-year elections across the US this week, where cost-of-living concerns propelled multiple Democratic candidates to victory.
Trump campaigned for the presidency on a platform of reducing inflation. Although price increases have slowed after he took office in January, they remain sticky. Inflation crept back up to 3 per cent in September, above the Federal Reserve’s 2 per cent target.
Earlier on Friday, Trump claimed members of his administration were the “victors on affordability”.
“If you look at affordability, which [Democrats] campaigned on, they lied . . . prices are down under the Trump administration,” he said. “We took over a mess, the highest inflation in recorded history . . . everybody knows that it’s far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.”
Attorney-general Pam Bondi confirmed the justice department’s investigation was under way in an X post published less than an hour after the president’s announcement.
The White House said four companies — JBS, Cargill, Tyson Foods and National Beef — dominated 85 per cent of the US beef-processing market.
“By examining whether these companies have violated antitrust laws through co-ordinated pricing or capacity restrictions, this investigation will root out any illegal collusion, restore fair competition and protect our food security,” the White House said.
Trump has repeatedly promised in the past few weeks to bring down beef prices, which reached a record high earlier this year amid a shortage of US cattle inventory. High costs have filtered down to restaurant menus, causing steakhouses to shrink portions and raise prices.
The president had previously said he would consider increasing imports of the meat from Argentina, in part to lower prices.
He has also been applying pressure on the Fed to reduce interest rates in order to further bring down mortgage rates.
On Thursday, the president announced a plan to slash prices for obesity drugs.
Shares of Tyson Foods and JBS dropped to session lows shortly after Trump’s post was published. Tyson recovered to close up 1.9 per cent while JBS ended the day down 3.6 per cent.
Trump said in his post: “Action must be taken immediately to protect Consumers, combat Illegal Monopolies, and ensure these Corporations are not criminally profiting at the expense of the American People.”
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