The increasing price of beef has become emblematic of the broader rise in the cost of living fueling Americans’ economic uncertainty and anger, as reported in headlines and polling. American consumers pay 16% more for a hamburger in July 2026 than when President Donald Trump started his second term, following Biden-era beef price increases. High beef prices have spurred political posturing and a flurry of trade and tariff actions by President Trump.
But consumers continue to face rising beef prices while cattle operations shut down nationwide, even as Trump has cut beef tariffs and opened the market to more beef imports. That is because the debate and proposed policy fixes are misdirected: Beef prices are not high because of high tariffs or low imports. Rather, the cost crisis is the result of rampant consolidation in meatpacking: Four firms now control 85% of U.S. beef processing, leaving cattle producers with little choice or transparency with respect to the sale of their animals. This consolidation is hollowing out the profitability of small and independent ranchers and feedlots, killing many of them off. Meanwhile, U.S. trade policy has allowed the very same meatpackers to import record volumes of beef, padding their profits—because they have the market power to keep retail prices high, even if imports may lower the price packers pay domestic producers.
This report outlines trends in beef prices and cattle herd size, debunks myths about the decline in the U.S. beef herd, and unpacks the effects of consolidation and hyperglobalization on the beef industry—the true culprits behind the current crisis.
Read Hamburger Hell: Record High Consumer Beef Prices that Tariffs Haven’t Caused, Imports Haven’t Lowered, and the Cattle Cycle Can’t Explain but that Can Be Fixed below or download the report in full at the link above.
See the press release for the report here.