'July 4th BBQ Burn’: Reports Pin Blame for Sky-High Cookout Prices on Trump Policies

Having a July 4 barbecue will be significantly more expensive this year than it was a year ago, and two reports say President Donald Trump's policies are at least partly to blame.

In an analysis published Wednesday, the American Economic Liberties Project faulted Trump for not taking on the corporate concentration in the meatpacking industry, which the group argued was the single biggest contributor to a "July 4th BBQ burn" that will see Americans pay record prices for ground beef.

The report finds that even though Trump has tried to cut prices by lowering his tariffs to increase the supply of imported beef, they have not fallen due to the meatpacking oligopoly's power to keep prices high regardless of input costs.

In fact, the report says that prices have gone up by an additional 2% since Trump exempted beef imports from his tariffs last November.

The real problem, the report contends, is that just four companies process 85% of US beef, giving them enormous leverage over what consumers pay for the final product.

Even though three of these four firms have paid out tens of millions of dollars to settle price-fixing allegations, the report adds, none of them have been broken up.

Lori Wallach, director of the American Economic Liberties Project's Rethink Trade program, said the president's unwillingness to take on corporate power was hurting both consumers and cattle ranchers.

"Responding to a corporate-monopoly-driven price crisis with trade tools has caused a double whammy," said Wallach. "No relief for American consumers, and record floods of imported beef threatening the livelihoods of the ranchers who supported Trump."

"To bring prices down," Wallach added, "the administration must break up the big four beef packers that dictate terms to consumers and ranchers alike."

Katie Hettinga, policy analyst at Rethink Trade and lead author of the report, said that until Trump "breaks the power of dominant meat packers and grocery chains to keep prices high, American consumers will suffer."

A separate analysis published Tuesday by Groundwork Collaborative and The Century Foundation spotlighted the high price of not just beef, but other July 4 staples as well.

In addition to the price of beef, which has gone up by over 20% in the last year, the report finds the prices of prepared potato salad (23% year-over-year increase), ice pops (22% increase), and strawberries (20% increase) have all seen substantial rises.

And it's not just food items, as the prices of disposable forks (20% year-over-year increase) and aluminum foil (18% increase) have gone up dramatically as well.

Lindsay Owens, executive director at Groundwork Collaborative, said that Trump's tariffs on foreign goods and his illegal war with Iran, which caused the price of fertilizer to spike, both contributed to the price spikes.

"As Americans fire up the grill this Fourth of July, they’ll feel the heat of summer price hikes," said Owens. "As popsicle prices spike and air conditioning bills skyrocket, working families will be forced to sweat in the face of high price tags. Thanks to Trump’s tariffs and foreign wars, Americans won’t find any independence from inflation this Fourth of July.”