Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 10/29/18

Ted McKinney, USDA's undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, is leading a trade mission to South Africa today through Friday. It's good timing for U.S. poultry producers looking for some reassurance that they won't lose their hard-won access to the South African market due to Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs.

Don't count your chickens yet: The industry, plus some Republicans and Democrats in Congress, fear that Africa's second-largest economy might retaliate against the U.S. duties by reimposing poultry tariffs that were lifted in 2015 as part of a bilateral deal. (The South African Poultry Association has filed a lawsuit to spur the government to take that step, arguing that Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs violate the 2015 agreement.)

The Trump administration moved last week to dial down the tensions, granting exclusions for nearly 200 South African products to be spared from the steel and aluminum duties. South Africa's trade ministry called it a "step towards normalizing trade relations," but the ministry is still seeking a country-wide exemption.

On the manifest: Perdue Foods, a top U.S. poultry processor, will join McKinney along with more than 30 other food, farm and business groups. "The South African market is very important to us," a Perdue spokeswoman told MA, adding that the company is looking to expand its customer base and bolster relationships with existing customers.

The trade delegation will be based in Johannesburg and Cape Town but will meet with potential customers from nearby African nations. McKinney said the aim is to carve out new market share for U.S. exports in a region that's typically a net importer of ag products from Europe, Asia and African nations.