Beef Tariff Rates 2026: The Ground Beef Tariff Waiver & Duty-Free Quota Explained

Q: What was announced about ground beef tariffs on Aug 21, 2026?

President Trump announced a 90-day waiver of the out-of-quota tariff on up to 300,000 metric tons of imported product for ground beef (lean beef trimmings). Imports under the waiver face no out-of-quota duty (normally 26.4%), in exchange for an exporter commitment to sell at 25% below current market prices.

Q: How long does the ground beef tariff waiver last?

The waiver window is 90 days from the Aug 21, 2026 announcement — modeled through Nov 19, 2026. The executive order is to be signed within two weeks; no official start/end date has been published yet, and the 90-day clock start (announcement vs. EO signature) is not yet specified. The waiver also ends early if the 300,000 metric ton cap is filled.

Q: What is the current US beef tariff rate?

Under the beef tariff-rate quota, in-quota imports generally face a tariff of just 4.4 cents per kilogram, while imports above quota face a 26.4% tariff. The Aug 21 waiver removes the out-of-quota tariff for up to 300,000 metric tons for 90 days. Whether the baseline 4.4-cent in-quota duty still applies has not been answered by officials.

Q: How much will ground beef cost under the waiver?

Exporters committed to sell at 25% below current market prices. Ground beef averaged $6.89 per pound in July 2026, up from $5.55 per pound in January 2025 (a 24% increase). The stated intent is to lower retail prices roughly 25% below current levels.

Q: Which countries will supply the waiver beef?

Unspecified as of Aug 21, 2026. Trump did not name a country or companies. Grinding beef typically comes from Australia or Brazil (frozen, largely food service); the Feb 2026 80,000 MT quota was allocated entirely to Argentina. FSIS/USDA country-eligibility rules still apply.

Q: How does this differ from the Feb 2026 Argentina quota increase?

Feb 2026 (Proclamation 11010): 80,000 MT/year TRQ increase, all Argentina, quarterly first-come-first-served tranches, in-quota rate applies. Aug 21, 2026: up to 300,000 MT for 90 days, out-of-quota tariff waived, country TBD. Different size, scope, duration, and mechanism.

Published August 21, 2026By ABD Legacy LLC

🆕 ANNOUNCED: 90-Day Waiver of Out-of-Quota Ground Beef Tariffs — Up to 300,000 Metric Tons

On Friday, August 21, 2026, President Trump announced that for the next 90 days the United States will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef (lean beef trimmings) to be imported with no out-of-quota tariff — normally 26.4%. In exchange, foreign beef exporters committed to sell at 25% below current market prices.

The waiver is temporary and capped: it runs for 90 days (modeled Aug 21 – Nov 19, 2026) or until the 300,000 MT cap (~661 million lbs) is filled, whichever comes first. The executive order is pending — to be signed within two weeks — and claiming mechanics are not yet published. This is not a permanent tariff change.

What happened: On Friday morning, August 21, 2026, President Trump posted on Truth Social that he had "concluded a deal to substantially lower the price of ground beef for working American families," adding: "for the next 90 days, the United States will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef to be imported with no out of quota tariff." A White House official told multiple outlets that foreign beef exporters committed to a 25% discount passed along to consumers: "In exchange for this tariff relief, President Trump has secured a deal with foreign beef exporters who will provide a 25 percent discount on beef exports to be passed along to American consumers."

Here's what the waiver means, how the beef tariff-rate quota works, and what importers should verify before booking shipments.

Key facts at a glance

Waiver element	Detail
Announced	Friday, Aug 21, 2026 (morning, Washington)
Volume	Up to 300,000 metric tons (~661.4 million lbs) of product for ground beef / lean beef trimmings
Duration	90 days — modeled Aug 21 – Nov 19, 2026 (clock start pending EO signature)
Out-of-quota tariff	Waived — normally 26.4% ad valorem above the quota
In-quota tariff	4.4 cents/kg — whether the baseline duty still applies to waiver imports is unanswered
Exporter commitment	Beef sold 25% below current market prices
Retail benchmark	Ground beef averaged $6.89/lb in July 2026 (BLS) vs $5.55/lb in Jan 2025 — +24% since Jan 2025, +10% YoY
HTS precedent	0201.30.5091, 0201.30.5097, 0202.30.5091, 0202.30.5097 (Proclamation 11010, Feb 2026)
EO status	Pending — to be signed within two weeks; no Federal Register notice as of Aug 21

Beef tariff rates 2026: how the tariff-rate quota works

Under Additional U.S. Note 3 to Chapter 2 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, the United States maintains tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for beef imports. In-quota imports "generally face a tariff of just 4.4 cents per kilogram, while imports above quota face a 26.4% tariff" (American Farm Bureau Federation via CNBC; USDA via NY Post). For beef valued around $7 per kilogram, that difference can exceed $1.80 per kilogram in tariff costs (AFBF via CNBC).

The Aug 21 deal creates a duty-free beef quota on top of the existing TRQ: it waives the out-of-quota component for up to 300,000 metric tons for 90 days. Officials did not answer whether the baseline 4.4-cent in-quota duty still applies to these imports (NY Post) — importers should treat that as unresolved until the EO is published.

What's covered: product scope and HTS codes

The product is described as "product for ground beef," "lean beef trimmings," or "beef trimmings." The exact HTS lines for the new waiver are not yet published (the EO is pending). The closest primary reference is Proclamation 11010 (Feb 6, 2026), the prior lean-beef-trimmings TRQ increase, which covers HTSUS statistical reporting numbers 0201.30.5091, 0201.30.5097, 0202.30.5091, and 0202.30.5097. The new EO's HTS scope is unconfirmed — flagged as ambiguity until it lands.

For scale: 300,000 metric tons is roughly half of total U.S. beef exports in H1 2026 (545,649 MT, -9% YoY) and about 16% of total 2026 YTD beef imports (1,864,629 MT through week 33, +13% YoY; USDA AMS).

The 90-day limitation — read this carefully

The window is temporary. The president's post says "for the next 90 days." This calculator models the window as Aug 21 – Nov 19, 2026 (announcement date + 90 days) because the official clock start has not been specified — the EO is to be signed within two weeks, and the 90-day clock could start at signature instead.
The cap can end it early. The exemption applies up to 300,000 MT. Once the cap is filled, the normal out-of-quota 26.4% tariff resumes for further entries.
No claiming mechanics yet. How importers claim the exemption (CBP entry procedures, first-come-first-served, tranches) is unpublished as of Aug 21. The operative precedent is the CBP-administered TRQ tranche system used for Proclamation 11010 (first-come, first-served quarterly tranches).
No country list. Trump did not say which country or companies agreed to the deal. Prior art: grinding beef typically comes from Australia or Brazil (frozen, largely food service), and the Feb 2026 80,000 MT quota was allocated entirely to Argentina.
Baseline duty unresolved. Whether the 4.4¢/kg in-quota tariff still applies to waiver imports was not answered.

Price context: what 25% below market means

Retail ground beef prices (BLS): $5.55/lb when President Trump took office (Jan 2025), rising to $6.89/lb in July 2026 — a +24% increase since Jan 2025 and +10% since July 2025 (Al Jazeera, citing BLS; NY Post, citing FRED/St. Louis Fed: $6.89/lb July 2026, +10% YoY, +57% over five years). The White House's Feb 6, 2026 fact sheet recorded ground beef at $6.69/lb in December 2025, "the highest since tracking began in the 1980s."

The exporter commitment is that waiver beef sells at 25% below current market prices. Axios has questioned how the discount will be enforced — exporters typically do not control retail prices; retailers do. The stated intent is to lower retail prices roughly 25% below the July 2026 average.

Supply context and why now

The U.S. cattle herd was 86.2 million head as of Jan 1, 2026 — the smallest since the 1950s — with beef cow inventory down 8.6% since 2020 (USDA via NY Post/WH fact sheet). Total cattle and calf inventory was 94.2 million as of July 1, 2026, up less than 1% YoY — the first July increase since 2018. Contributing factors: drought/wildfires, high feed costs, herd liquidation, and the 2025 screwworm-related closure of the Mexican border to live cattle (southern-border ports reopened July 2026). Imported grinding beef "already is trading at a steep discount," and "the out-of-quota tariff has not been an issue for importers to this point as a record amount is being imported" (Altin Kalo, Steiner Consulting, via CNBC).

Who opposes it

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association (CEO Colin Woodall) says "flooding the market with government-subsidized, below-market beef is not the way to rebuild the American cattle herd" and that the move "sacrifices long-term stability for short term messaging." Also critical: U.S. Cattlemen's Association, Iowa Cattlemen's Association, American Association of Meat Processors, PMI Foods, and the American Farm Bureau, plus Senators Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio). PMI Foods' Darin Parker described the deal as "12,000 containers of beef trimmings under quota" — a short-term fix.

How to use the Tariff Calculator for this waiver

Use the beef import tariff calculator to check the duty-free beef quota: select "Ground Beef — 90-Day Out-of-Quota Waiver (Aug 21, 2026)" as the product category, set your import date inside the waiver window (Aug 21 – Nov 19, 2026), and the calculator returns the duty-free result (0% out-of-quota duty) — with the cap, duration, HTS precedent, and price context shown in the result flag. Outside the window, the calculator applies the normal 26.4% out-of-quota rate.

FAQ

Q: What was announced about ground beef tariffs on Aug 21, 2026?

A: A 90-day waiver of the out-of-quota tariff on up to 300,000 metric tons of imported product for ground beef (lean beef trimmings). Imports under the waiver face no out-of-quota duty (normally 26.4%), in exchange for an exporter commitment to sell at 25% below current market prices. Announced by President Trump on Truth Social Friday morning, Aug 21, 2026; the executive order is to be signed within two weeks.

Q: How long does the ground beef tariff waiver last?

A: 90 days from the announcement (modeled Aug 21 – Nov 19, 2026). No official start/end date is published yet — the 90-day clock start (announcement vs. EO signature) is not specified. The waiver also ends early if the 300,000 MT cap is filled.

Q: What is the current US beef tariff rate?

A: In-quota: 4.4 cents/kg. Out-of-quota: 26.4%. The waiver removes the out-of-quota tariff for up to 300,000 MT for 90 days. Whether the baseline 4.4-cent in-quota duty still applies has not been answered by officials.

Q: How much will ground beef cost under the waiver?

A: Exporters committed to 25% below current market prices. Ground beef averaged $6.89/lb in July 2026 vs $5.55/lb in Jan 2025 (+24%). A 25% discount off $6.89/lb implies roughly $5.17/lb at retail, though enforcement of the retail discount is untested (exporters don't control retail prices — retailers do).

Q: Which countries will supply the waiver beef?

A: Unspecified as of Aug 21. Trump did not name a country or companies. Grinding beef typically comes from Australia or Brazil (frozen, largely food service); the Feb 2026 80,000 MT quota was allocated entirely to Argentina. FSIS/USDA country-eligibility rules still apply.

Q: How does this differ from the Feb 2026 Argentina quota increase?

A: Feb 2026 (Proclamation 11010): 80,000 MT/year TRQ increase, all Argentina, quarterly first-come-first-served tranches, in-quota rate applies. Aug 21: up to 300,000 MT for 90 days, out-of-quota tariff waived, country TBD. Different size, scope, duration, and mechanism.

Sources (verified Aug 21, 2026): Politico — "Trump pauses quota tariff on 300,000 tons of beef ahead of midterms" · Al Jazeera — "Trump waives out-of-quota beef tariffs for 90 days to lower prices" · NY Post — "Trump lifts tariffs on 300K tons of ground beef, commits to 25% price drop" · CNBC — "Trump to allow import of 300,000 MT ground beef without tariff" · Bloomberg News wire via Bloomberg Tax — "Tariff Relief for Some Ground Beef Imports" · NYT — "Trump Announces Move to Lift Ground Beef Tariffs in Bid to Lower Prices" · Agri-Pulse — "Trump to lift beef tariffs within two weeks" · Axios — "Trump authorizes more beef imports in effort to lower prices" · White House fact sheet (Feb 6, 2026) · USTR TRQ allocation notice (90 FR 61497) · Proclamation 11010 (FR 2026-03050) · USDA AMS weekly import report (wk33 2026) · Truth Social post (President Trump, Aug 21, 2026). This page is an explainer, not legal or customs advice — consult a licensed customs broker or trade counsel for your specific entries.