2026-09-07T13:41:00-0400 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
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伊恩·李 特约通讯员
伊恩·李是驻伦敦的哥伦比亚广播公司新闻特约通讯员，为CBS新闻、CBS新闻专线和CBS 24小时新闻供稿。李是屡获殊荣的记者，其报道重大国际事件的作品斩获了新闻界多项顶级荣誉，包括艾美奖、皮博迪奖以及调查记者与编辑协会颁发的汤姆·伦纳奖。
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怀俄明州的牧场主本已在干旱、成本上涨和土地稀缺的困境中挣扎，特朗普总统对部分碎牛肉进口暂停征收高额关税的90天豁免令，又让他们的处境蒙上了更多不确定性。
“消息公布后，我们的牛只价值一夜之间下跌了10%，”在怀俄明州夏延郊外饲养近1500头肉牛的马克·艾瑟尔对哥伦比亚广播公司新闻表示，“换作任何其他市场，这都将是毁灭性的打击。我们只能硬扛下来。”
特朗普于8月21日宣布，未来90天内将允许最多30万吨碎牛肉免税进入美国，不受配额外关税限制。消息公布后，牛肉期货价格大幅下跌。据世界贸易组织规定，当进口量超过特定配额时，将触发高额关税，此次豁免则暂停了这一加征关税的措施。
此后牛肉期货价格基本回弹，周五收盘价较特朗普宣布该政策时低约2%。
目前美国牛肉价格已接近每磅7美元，较2021年的每磅2.93美元大幅上涨。白宫表示，临时扩大进口将降低消费者的牛肉成本。
“这项协议将降低美国民众的食品开支，同时为我们伟大的美国肉牛群恢复增长留出空间，”总统在宣布这项举措时说道。
但牧场主随后公开反对该计划，认为牛肉进口方案会削弱他们的生意，阻碍他们重建日益萎缩的肉牛群的目标。
如今，怀俄明州的牧场主表示，他们正挣扎在肉牛行业近来严苛的经济环境中，同时受到干旱和高成本的双重挤压。部分牧场主甚至开始出售牛群。
“这一年的经历，我希望永远不要再经历一次，”每年拍卖约45万头牛的托灵顿牲畜市场所有者兰德尔·尼科迪默斯说道，“今年很多人被迫做出艰难的抉择，卖掉了他们本不愿出手的牛。”
这项于9月1日生效的牛肉进口关税豁免计划公布后，据农业市场报告显示，芝加哥商品交易所的部分牛肉期货合约一度触及八个月低点，不过此后合约价格收复了部分跌幅。
佐治亚州牧场主、该州第14国会选区民主党候选人肖恩·哈里斯上月对哥伦比亚广播公司新闻表示，该计划可能会让一些肉牛牧场主破产。
“如今，我们在关税、柴油、化肥以及所有东西上都面临着离谱的投入成本，”哈里斯说道，“现在农民们正要卖牛，这笔交易却要让我们亏本。”
怀俄明大学农业经济学家克里斯·巴斯蒂安对哥伦比亚广播公司新闻表示，鉴于进口牛肉量仅占美国人消费总量的约2%，这项关税计划并不会大幅降低美国消费者的食品价格。但他表示，该计划可能会打击牧场主重建牛群的积极性，进而导致牛肉供应持续短缺，从而损害美国牧场主的利益。
“如果我们继续走进口牛肉的道路，这将持续给生产商带来风险和不确定性，”巴斯蒂安说道，“我们将面临持续紧张的供应局面。”
专家表示，美国肉牛牧场主面临的问题可能会持续很久。
“明年我们将卖出什么，还有谁能继续经营下去，这是一个非常重大的担忧，”尼科迪默斯说道，“我认为这也应该是美国消费者的重大担忧。我认为，国家的粮食安全正是让这个国家变得伟大的原因。”
Wyoming ranchers struggling amid drought, higher costs and new pressures from beef imports
2026-09-07T13:41:00-0400 / CBS News
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Ian Lee Correspondent
Ian Lee is a CBS News correspondent based in London, where he reports for CBS News, CBS Newspath and CBS News 24/7. Lee is a multi-award-winning journalist whose work covering major international stories has earned him some of journalism’s top honors, including an Emmy, Peabody and the Investigative Reporters and Editors’ Tom Renner award.
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Wyoming ranchers already contending with drought, rising costs and scarce land have faced uncertainty following President Trump’s 90-day waiver of higher tariffs on some ground beef imports.
“This announcement came out, we had a 10% drop in the value of cattle overnight,” Mark Eisele, who raises nearly 1,500 head of cattle outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming, told CBS News. “If that was in any other market, it would be earth-shattering. We’re going to have to absorb that.”
Cattle futures fell sharply following Mr. Trump’s announcement on Aug. 21 that the U.S. would allow up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef into the country for the next 90 days with “no out-of-quota tariff.” That put a pause on higher tariffs, which are triggered when trade volume surpasses a certain quota, according to the World Trade Organization.
Cattle futures have since largely recovered, closing Friday about 2% lower than when Mr. Trump made his announcement.
With U.S. beef prices at nearly $7 a pound, up from $2.93 a pound in 2021, the White House said that temporarily expanding imports would lower beef costs for consumers.
“This deal will reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again,” the president said in announcing the action.
But cattle ranchers later spoke out about the move, arguing the beef import plan would undercut their business and hamper their goal of rebuilding their shrinking cattle herds.
Now, ranchers in Wyoming say they are struggling with the recent unforgiving economics of the cattle industry, pinched by drought and high costs. Some are even selling their herds.
“It’s been a year that I hope we never do it again,” said Lander Nicodemus, owner of Torrington Livestock Markets, which auctions about 450,000 head of cattle each year. “Guys were forced to make some really tough decisions this year and sell cattle that they didn’t want to.”
After the plan was announced to waive tariffs on imported beef, which went into effect on Sept. 1, some Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures contracts reached eight-month lows, according to agricultural market reports, although the contracts later recovered some of the declines.
Shawn Harris, a Georgia rancher and a Democratic nominee for the state’s 14th Congressional District, told CBS News last month that the plan could run some cattle ranchers out of business.
“Right now, we got crazy input costs when it comes to tariffs and diesel, fertilizer, everything,” Harris said. “And now farmers are about to sell cattle, and we’re going to lose money on this deal.”
University of Wyoming agricultural economist Chris Bastian told CBS News that the tariff plan won’t do much to lower prices for U.S. consumers, given that the amount of beef represents about 2% of what Americans consume. But it could hurt U.S. ranchers by discouraging them from rebuilding their herds, which could keep beef supplies in short supply, he said.
“If we continue down the road of importing beef, that’s going to continue to create risk and uncertainty for producers,” Bastian said. “We’ll face continually tight supplies.”
The issues facing American cattle ranchers could be long-lasting, experts say.
“What are we going to sell next year, who will still be in business, is a really big concern,” Nicodemus said. “And I think it should be a big concern for the American consumer. I think our nation’s food security is what has made this nation great.”