Congressman Gabe Evans Joined LIBRE And AFP For Colorado Community Town Hall Dinner on Financial Empowerment

Representative Gabe Evans, who represents Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, expressed his disagreement with President Donald Trump’s proposal to import beef from Argentina to lower prices in the United States. Although Evans is a Republican and has supported Trump on various issues, this time he took a different stance by defending the interests of the cattle producers in his district, one of the strongest regions in the country’s meat industry.

Evans was interviewed by El Comercio de Colorado before his participation in the Community Town Hall organized by The Libre Initiative and AFP Colorado in Northglenn. In that conversation, he explained that he was “one of the first seven Republicans” to sign a letter to the Trump administration, led by Representative Julie Fedorchak of North Dakota. That letter, he said, aimed to “highlight the concerns of many American beef producers and request clarification on how this plan would work.”

Evans rejects importing Argentine beef

“We must put American producers first,” said Evans. He added, “I don’t think buying Argentine beef is the way to bring grocery store prices down, because that has the potential to hurt our producers.” The lawmaker noted that the district he represents is home to the largest beef supplier in North America, headquartered in the Greeley area. For that reason, he argued that an increase in imports of beef from Argentina “would directly affect producers and the local economy.”

A “homegrown” alternative

Evans proposed a domestic, national solution to increase the beef supply without resorting to imports. “Some dairy producers have suggested the idea of culling some of the older cows. This strategy would temporarily increase the beef supply and help lower consumer prices,” he explained. He added that such a measure could “increase supply, bring prices down, and do it with an American fix that benefits local producers and local economies.”

The congressman agreed with Trump that consumers are facing high supermarket prices but rejected the idea that importing foreign beef is the solution. “We know we need to bring prices down in stores, but I’m convinced we can do it with beef produced in the United States,” he said. Trump had suggested on October 19 that his administration “could buy beef from Argentina” as a way to help that country while also lowering domestic prices.

The proposal has drawn criticism from ranchers and Republican lawmakers in major beef-producing states such as Texas, South Dakota, and Colorado. Critics of Trump’s initiative to import beef from Argentina warned that the measure could create “chaos in the meat industry.” Evans joined that group of Republicans opposing the plan, emphasizing that “lowering prices is important, but we must do it with local solutions that strengthen national production and protect our farmers.”

Read the letter signed by Representative Evans and six other Republican members of Congress.

Orginally posted on El Comercio De Colorado.