Cattle ranch in Kansas, USA [Reuters=Yonhap News Agency File Photo]

The Donald Trump administration in the United States has decided to temporarily suspend tariff limits on imported beef to stabilize soaring beef prices, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 11th (local time).

Citing sources, the WSJ reported that the Trump administration plans to announce measures to temporarily suspend the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) system for imported beef as early as the 11th.

The TRQ system imposes low tariffs on a certain volume of imports, while applying higher rates to volumes exceeding that quota.

If this system is suspended, more imported beef will be able to enter the U.S. at lower tariffs.

The Trump administration also plans to announce measures to support American farmers and deregulation initiatives.

The government is expected to instruct the Small Business Administration (SBA) to prepare measures to expand loans to ranchers and strengthen access to capital.

Some livestock regulations, such as easing protection measures for endangered wolves, which has been a long-standing complaint in the ranching industry, and mandatory electronic tags for identification, are also to be relaxed.

The background to these measures is the prolonged rise in U.S. beef prices.

While the price increases for some food items, such as eggs and milk, have slowed down in the U.S. over the past year, beef prices continue to rise. In particular, the price of ground beef has increased by about 40% compared to five years ago.

The sharp decline in livestock prices and severe drought during the COVID-19 pandemic led ranchers to reduce their herds, causing the U.S. cattle population to fall to its lowest level in 75 years.

On the other hand, steady demand for beef has exacerbated the supply shortage.

Experts predict that it will take until after 2028 for the U.S. cattle population to significantly recover. Therefore, it is analyzed that increasing imports is inevitable to resolve the short-term imbalance in supply and demand.

The U.S. is already increasing imports from countries like Brazil and Australia, and beef imports are expected to reach a record high of 6 billion pounds this year.

Brazil, the world's largest beef producer, has already met its low-tariff quota with the U.S. in January.

A White House official explained that this decision is intended to alleviate the domestic beef shortage in the short term and will help ranchers reduce costs in the long run.