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Pork producers want a trade deal with Japan – now

Pork producers want a trade deal with Japan, and they want it now.

Nick Giordano, vice president and global government affairs council for the National Pork Producers Council says, “The US pork industry cannot get a free trade agreement with Japan implemented fast enough.”

He says the US continues to lose its market share in Japan as the tariffs for other countries who are also competing for that market continue to drop.  “We would happily take a deal on pork only – or pork and whatever,” he says.  “We need to be on an equal footing with the CPTPP countries and the European Union.  We’re not.  Now this industry is really competitive – but we can’t sell with one arm tied behind our back.”

The CPTPP agreement was implemented January 1 and included the first tariff cut and then a second tariff cut for those nations went into effect April 1.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership is a free trade agreement between Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Giordano made his comments during a roundtable in Washington, DC earlier this week.