The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday it is lifting a more than yearlong ban on Mexican cattle imports that helped push U.S. beef prices to record highs, a move officials say is meant to ease supply pressure on the $100 billion domestic beef industry.
The ban, imposed in May 2025 to stop the spread of the flesh-eating New World screwworm parasite, will be lifted in phases, starting with a port of entry in Douglas, Arizona, reopening Aug. 24, followed by two more ports in New Mexico. The reopening is contingent on Mexico maintaining a screwworm control plan, even though the pest has already been detected in Texas and New Mexico.
The decision reflects a bet by the Trump administration that resuming imports can help rebuild a domestic cattle herd that fell to 86.2 million head in January, its lowest level since 1951, after drought and the import ban forced ranchers to shrink their herds.
But relief for shoppers is unlikely to be immediate. Imports will restart gradually at a single port before expanding, and cattle typically take months to reach slaughter weight after entering U.S. feedlots, meaning any effect on grocery store prices will take time to show up.
What the USDA Announced
The USDA said in a statement that it is now safe to begin reopening the southern border to Mexican cattle, with imports resuming in phases contingent on Mexico’s adherence to a screwworm control plan, according to Reuters.
The Wall Street Journal, citing an interview with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, first reported the decision Friday. Reopening will begin at the Douglas, Arizona, port of entry on Aug. 24, with two additional ports of entry in New Mexico to follow later, Bloomberg reported.
Traders told Reuters that the Arizona and New Mexico ports were chosen first because they are farther from the screwworm infestations concentrated closer to Mexico’s border with Central America, making them less risky than reopening ports in Texas.
Why the Ban Happened
The USDA first suspended imports of live cattle from Mexico in May 2025 after New World screwworm, a parasite that burrows into the flesh of living animals, was detected in Mexico and appeared to be spreading north through Central America.
Keeping the US free of the pest has been estimated to save livestock producers close to $1 billion a year in avoided treatment, veterinary care and eradication costs. Despite the ban, the parasite continued moving north. It was detected on farms in Texas and New Mexico in June, according to Reuters, undercutting one of the ban’s central goals even as it remained in place.
How the Ban Squeezed the Beef Industry
Closing the border forced the $100 billion U.S. beef industry to contract, particularly in Texas, the nation’s largest cattle-producing state. Domestic cattle supplies fell to a 75-year low as the import ban combined with prolonged drought conditions that had already pushed ranchers to shrink their herds.
The U.S. cattle herd stood at 86.2 million head as of the USDA’s January 2026 cattle inventory report, the lowest level since 1951. Tight supplies raised costs for meatpackers. Tyson Foods closed a large processing plant in Nebraska this year, and rival JBS said it would close a beef plant in Pennsylvania, according to Reuters.
What Consumers Have Been Paying
Record-tight cattle supplies pushed retail beef prices to unprecedented levels this year. As of a February update, national average retail ground beef prices had climbed to $7.85 a pound, with some choice cuts approaching $10 a pound, contributing to what industry watchers described as a “consumer trade-down” toward poultry and pork at major grocery chains. The Trump administration has faced political pressure over the price increases, which Reuters described as a factor pushing officials toward reopening the border.
Why Prices Could Change, and How Fast
Reopening the border restores a supply channel that had provided roughly 1 million head of cattle a year before the ban, giving US feedlots and processors more animals to work with and potentially easing the price pressure tied to record-low domestic herd numbers.
However, the phased approach means only one port will reopen initially, and most cattle imported from Mexico enter the US as young feeder animals bound for feedlots rather than animals ready for slaughter. This process typically takes months to complete. That timeline suggests any downward movement in retail beef prices is likely to build gradually over the coming months rather than appear immediately at the grocery counter.
The Screwworm Risk Remains
U.S. beef industry executives have voiced cautious support for reopening the border while warning that resuming imports carries some risk of further spreading the screwworm infestation already found in Texas and New Mexico, according to Devdiscourse.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller praised the decision to allow a limited resumption of imports, calling it “the right move for ranchers and American consumers,” while saying the prolonged closure had already disrupted supply chains and should have ended sooner, according to Reuters.
The USDA has said it will monitor Mexico’s compliance with its screwworm control plan as it proceeds with the phased reopening, and further port openings in New Mexico are expected to follow the Arizona port later this year. How quickly the reopening translates into lower prices for consumers will depend on how fast Mexican cattle move through US feedlots and whether the screwworm situation in Texas and New Mexico remains contained.
