11 States Push to Protect ‘Product of USA’ Beef Label

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has announced that his office is leading a bipartisan coalition of 11 state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief supporting cattle ranchers in their fight against manufacturers who market foreign-sourced beef under the “Product of USA” label.

“Ranchers in South Dakota and across America work hard to produce the highest quality beef products in the world,” Jackley said. “The ‘Product of USA’ label is a brand that reflects the quality of American beef.”

The case stems from a lawsuit filed by South Dakota ranchers in federal district court after the U.S. Department of Agriculture allowed foreign beef products to carry the domestic-origin label. The district court sided with the ranchers, but the case is now on appeal before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The coalition’s brief argues that the USDA itself has since acknowledged the labeling practice conflicts with federal requirements and urges the appellate court to stop manufacturers from misusing the label.

“Selling lower-quality foreign beef with a ‘Product of USA’ label misleads consumers and harms the reputation and financial interests of American ranchers,” Jackley said. “Consumers should not be fooled into paying a premium price for substandard foreign beef product under a false ‘Product of USA’ label.”

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who joined the brief, echoed those concerns: “Ranchers in Oklahoma and across the United States put in tremendous effort to produce the world’s highest quality beef,” Drummond said. “The ‘Product of USA’ label symbolizes the quality of American beef. Using such a label for foreign-sourced beef is dishonest and just plain inaccurate.”

The attorneys general of Colorado, Kansas, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming also signed onto the brief, alongside South Dakota and Oklahoma.

The court filing contends that the current labeling misleads 84% of consumers into believing the beef was born, raised, and processed in the United States when in fact it was imported and merely packaged or processed domestically. The USDA has announced a new definition, effective January 2026, that will require “Product of USA” beef to be entirely born, raised, slaughtered, and processed in the country — but the states say enforcement can’t wait.

The coalition argues that states have concurrent authority under the Federal Meat Inspection Act to prevent the sale of misbranded meat products and that USDA’s past label approvals, based on informal guidance, do not override that responsibility.

The brief concludes that the current mislabeling “is deceptive, anti-competitive and detrimental to consumers and the reputation of genuine, domestically-produced beef products” and calls on the court to affirm the lower court ruling in favor of the ranchers.