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Removing pork tariffs could be mutually beneficial

USDA’s chief economist Rob Johansson says the U.S. pork industry could be the first to realize the benefits of the trade deal with China as struggles with African Swine Fever continue.

“At the end of the year they were still suffering from African Swine Fever and having a difficult time in repopulating their pig barns,” he says.  “The ability of the U.S. to ramp up production and sell to China is there.”

However, 60 percent punitive tariffs remain in place on U.S. pork products.

An Iowa State University economist estimates those retaliatory tariffs are costing the U.S. industry about a billion dollars annually but if removed, could reduce the U.S. trade deficit with China by almost six percent and create $24.5 billion in new pork export demand over the next decade.

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