The U.S. will let cattle cross the border from Mexico again. This starts next month.
Beef prices have been high for months. Ranchers and Republicans pushed hard for this move.
Two people who know the plan told the news outlet E&E News. They spoke on Friday, July 24. They said Trump wants lower beef prices before the midterm elections. E&E News reporters Grace Yarrow and Marcia Brown broke the news. E&E News is part of POLITICO.
E&E News had already reported on July 14 that the Trump team faced pressure to open the border. That pressure kept building for 10 more days. Then the USDA made its move.
The USDA had closed the border to Mexican cattle. It did this to stop a bad bug. The bug is called the New World screwworm. It eats into the flesh of cattle. It can kill cows and other farm animals.
The border ban cut cattle supply. That helped push beef prices up. South Texas ranch country felt it too.
The USDA said Friday it will open one border port. It is in Douglas, Arizona. Cattle trade starts there on Aug. 24.
The USDA is also getting ready to open two more ports. Both are in New Mexico. One is Santa Teresa. The other is Columbus.
No Texas border ports were named. The USDA said any port could shut again. This could happen if the bug spreads more.
Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins faced pressure for months. Republicans and cattle ranchers pushed her to open the border. They said the ban was pushing up meat prices at the store.
Rollins said this fight is bigger than one border port. She gave this statement: "Protecting the United States from [New World screwworm] and pushing this pest out of Mexico and back to the Darien Gap is a top priority at USDA and has the full attention of the Trump Administration."
The Darien Gap is jungle land. It sits between Colombia and Panama. That is far south of Mexico. Rollins wants to push the bug back down there.
Rollins has talked about this fight for months. In June, she stood with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Ranchers and health officials stood there too. They met at a lab in Kerrville, Texas. The lab studies bugs that harm farm animals. It helps lead the fight against the screwworm.
El Tejano wrote about this fight back in June. Beef prices had jumped 20 percent by then. The bug and a trade fight both pushed prices up. Read that story here: https://www.eltejanorgv.com/beef-is-up-20-a-parasite-and-a-trade-war-could-push-it-higher/
The Aug. 24 date is set for the Arizona port. The two New Mexico ports do not have a date yet. The USDA is still working out the steps to open them.
South Texas ranchers have watched this bug fight for months. No Texas port is opening yet. But any change on the border can still hit cattle supply here.
Many South Texas ranch families trade cattle with Mexico. High beef prices hit home grocery bills too. This news matters here, even with the first ports opening far from South Texas.
It is not clear when Texas ports might reopen. The USDA has not set a date for that. It said it will keep watching the bug threat first.
For now, this plan could bring lower beef prices. It also lets the USDA shut trade down fast again. That could happen if the flesh-eating bug spreads more.
