Tipsheet

Trump Orders DOJ to Investigate Foreign Meat-Packing Companies Over Price-Fixing

Scott McClallen
Scott McClallen  |  November 07, 2025 7:00 PM


President Donald Trump has called on the Department of Justice to investigate alleged price-fixing by foreign-owned meat packers.

While inflation is down from 9.1 percent in June of 2022, Trump has targeted beef prices. 

Trump posted on Truth Social: .

 



Four main meat packers: JBS, Cargill, Tyson Foods, and National Beef hold an 85 percent market share in the U.S. beef processing market. 

While inflation has cooled from 9% in 2021 to about 3%, the price of energy, meat, and other goods haven't budged much, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

The consumer price index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 5.2 percent over the last 12 months. Trump has tried to lower beef prices by boosting imported beef from Argentina. 

"Prices are way down in our country. The only cost that's really up is beef," Trump said in the Oval Office on Oct. 22, Reuters reported. "We're going to do something very quickly and easily on beef to get it down. The ranchers understand that."



 A graph from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the average price of a pound of beef more than doubled from $2.54 in 2005 to $6.63 in 2025.


A physician posted historical comparisons for beef prices and confirmed that the price is been increasing. 


Attorney General Pam Bondi said the investigation is already underway, she posted on X.