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DOJ investigating meatpacking companies after Trump price manipulation allegations

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by Max Rego - 04/21/26 4:54 PM ET

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by Max Rego - 04/21/26 4:54 PM ET

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The antitrust division at the Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating whether large meatpackers engaged in criminal anti-competitive conduct, according to multiple reports.

Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter, that DOJ lawyers are investigating Cargill, JBS, National Beef and Tyson Foods. Cargill and Tyson are based in the U.S., while JBS is headquartered in Brazil and National Beef is owned by Brazilian multinational company Marfrig.

The Hill has reached out to all four companies for comment. A spokesperson for the DOJ declined comment.

Those four firms handled 85 percent of all steer and heifer purchases and 67 percent of all hog purchases as of 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). That report from USDA found that increased concentration within the industry, borne from the largest companies building bigger plants, led to lower production costs, lower consumer prices, increased consumption and higher prices for cattle and hogs.

“However, with fewer rivals because of increased concentration, most of the studies found packers were also able to exercise some market power and pay lower prices for cattle than they would have had they faced more competitors,” the report added. “Even so, the impact of higher concentration—reducing prices paid for cattle—was more than offset by the impact of lower production costs on raising cattle prices.”

In November, President Trump asked the DOJ to investigate the meatpacking industry, which he accused of “driving up the price of Beef through Illicit Collusion, Price Fixing, and Price Manipulation.” He also urged the department to “act expeditiously” on the matter.

When the president issued that demand, the average per-pound price of ground beef was $6.54, up more than $0.91 from November 2024, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Last month, the average price of a pound of ground beef was more than $6.70, down slightly from January and February.

The DOJ opened a civil antitrust probe into the four largest meatpackers during the president’s first term, which the Biden administration continued before the second Trump DOJ closed the probe last year.

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