The U.S. Department of Agriculture recalled 30,000 pounds of Argentine beef that the administration of President Donald Trump had imported to bring down domestic beef prices.
The USDA recalled 29,628 pounds of raw beef products imported from Argentina on Aug. 7, 2026, because the Food Safety and Inspection Service had not reinspected it upon entry to the U.S.
The recalled beef was not part of the Trump administration’s announced plan to import 300,000 metric tons of “product for ground beef.” An Aug. 26 presidential proclamation said imports under that plan would start on Sept. 1, 2026.
In August 2026, a claim (archived) circulated online that the U.S. Department of Agriculture recalled 30,000 pounds of Argentine beef that the Trump administration had imported to bring down domestic beef prices.
Around a week before claims circulated, on Aug. 21, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump announced (archived) on Truth Social that his administration would allow the import of 300,000 metric tons of “product for ground beef” to lower domestic beef prices.
One Threads user who appeared to connect the recalled beef with the Trump administration’s import plan wrote:
This was predictable, but the Trump administration is now frantically recalling 30,000 lbs. of foreign beef they brought into the country. Here’s an idea — maybe we just buy from American ranchers for a while.
Similar claims also circulated on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), X (archived), Bluesky (archived) and Reddit (archived). Snopes readers contacted us about the claim.
The claim was a mixture of true and false elements.
It was true that the USDA recalled approximately 29,628 pounds of raw beef products imported from Argentina on Aug. 7, 2026. The department said the imported product had not been reinspected when it entered the U.S., meaning the Food Safety and Inspection Service could not ensure it met U.S. safety standards.
However, the beef the USDA recalled was not part of the Trump administration’s plan to import 300,000 metric tons of “product for ground beef.” According to an Aug. 26 presidential proclamation, the Trump administration would start those planned beef imports on Sept. 1, 2026.
The recall
According to the USDA’s recall, a Florida-based company called Corte Argentino USA LLC had imported the Argentine beef products, which were produced between May 15, 2026, and May 20, 2026, and carried use-by or freeze-by dates between Sept. 15, 2026, and Sept. 20, 2026.
The USDA listed the following products for recall:
- Various weight cardboard boxes containing “FrigorIfico Gorina SAIC” boneless beef “Top Sirloin Butt” (“Cuadril Sin Tapa”)
- Various weight cardboard boxes containing “FrigorIfico Gorina SAIC” boneless beef “Eye Round” (“Peceto”)
- Various weight cardboard boxes containing “FrigorIfico Gorina SAIC” boneless beef “Topside Cap Off” (“Nalga AD S/Tapa”)
- Various weight cardboard boxes containing “FrigorIfico Gorina SAIC” boneless beef “Flat” (“Carnaza Cuadrada”)
- Various weight cardboard boxes containing “FrigorIfico Gorina SAIC” boneless beef “Knuckle” (“Bola de Lomo”)
The FSIS recalled the beef because it had not been “reinspected” upon entry to the United States. Imported meat must pass this inspection before it can be sold in the U.S.
The reinspection process allows the FSIS to check that products are “safe, wholesome, and accurately labeled” according to domestic standards.
Speculation swirls about Trump beef import plan
Trump signed a proclamation about the import plan on Aug. 26 that said the additional imports would take place in three 30-day windows, starting on Sept. 1. Neither the proclamation nor members of the Trump administration had confirmed where the imported beef would come from at the time of this writing.
On Aug. 25, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, whose department would inspect the incoming beef under the new plan, told (video time code 07:19) reporters at the White House she was “not privy” to discuss where the imported beef came from.
Despite, or perhaps because of the lack of information about the plan, online speculation swirled that Trump would import Argentine beef that China had rejected because it found an antibiotic in a shipment of meat that was banned in both countries.
Snopes’ reporting found that China did suspend imports of beef from a single facility owned by the Argentine meatpacker ArreBeef after inspection found one shipment from the facility contained the antibiotic chloramphenicol.
The beef that the USDA recalled on Aug. 7, 2026, did not come from this supplier.
For further reading, Snopes previously investigated a rumor that the Trump administration’s imported beef would come from slaughtered wild horses.
Snopes reporter Emery Winter contributed to this report.
