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Trade truce will benefit pork industry

A global ag trade analyst says pork producers will benefit from the trade truce with China, but only if retaliatory tariffs are lifted.

Brett Stuart, the president of Global AgriTrends, says China’s commitment to purchase more ag goods from the U.S. suggests retaliatory tariffs will be lifted soon.

“Right now we have 50 percent retaliation duties on U.S. pork,” he says. “If that statement is correct and that agreement is valid I would expect those duties to be lifted soon. That would generate some positive wind in the sails of these markets.”

He says – like many in the ag industry – he’s anxious to see how negotiations will unfold over the next 90 days.

“Sometimes we wait until the window is almost closed before we get serious and negotiate so we’ll just have to see whether those duties are really lifted and what action China really intends to take,” he says.

Stuart talked to Brownfield at the Midwest Pork Conference.

Audio: Brett Stuart, Global Ag Trade