Source: Susan Kelly, MEATINGPLACE, 7/18/19


U.S. pork producers are missing out on an “unprecedented sales opportunity” worth $1 billion annually due to China’s retaliatory trade tariffs, a National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) official testified this week before a House agriculture subcommittee.
The loss to producers equals $8 per animal from China’s 62% tariff rate, said NPPC President David Herring.

If not for the duties, U.S. producers would be in an ideal position to meet China’s need for increased pork imports as the country battles the spread of African swine fever and experiences a major reduction in domestic production, Herring said in his prepared remarks.

“Instead, this trade opportunity is fueling jobs, profits and rural development for our competitors. We seek an end to the trade dispute with China,” Herring said.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that trade talks with China are at a halt until the United States addresses the nation’s demand to remove restrictions on tech company Huawei.

Turning to trade with Japan, Herring urged a faster pace of negotiations on that front as producers watch “helplessly” while the European Union and nations in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) take market share from the United States.

Pork producers also are eager to see congressional ratification of the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement that preserves zero-tariff pork trade in North America, he said. Canada and Mexico account for more than 40% of all U.S. pork exports, supporting 16,000 U.S. jobs, Herring added.

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