Are beef imports good or bad for the U.S. beef business?

Why do we import meat when we can’t process all the animals ready for harvest in the U.S.? That’s a common question now-a-days, especially on social media, according to the Oklahoma Farm Report. Wouldn’t we be better off if we eliminated imports?

That’s a bad idea, says Bart Fischer, ag economics professor and co-director of the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A & M University. "The reality on trade in beef is that over the last 10 years we have exported $15 billion more than we imported," said Fischer, who also has served as chief economist for the U.S. House Agriculture Committee.

The problem is if we start erecting barriers to imports in our country, it doesn't take long before other countries do the same. "It is really alarming to me," Fischer said, "when I hear these things because we are effectively putting billions of dollars at risk."

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