The U.S. pork industry is pushing for trade talks with Japan to get underway immediately. Politico says the industry is lobbying the administration to move quickly in striking a favorable deal.
Nick Giordano, vice president and counsel for the National Pork Producers Association, spoke during a recent media roundtable. He says the 11-nation CPTPP, which is the new name for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, has squeezed out U.S companies that are already being hit hard by retaliatory tariffs from China and Mexico. “The pork industry is on no less than three retaliation lists,” Giordano says. “I’m not sure there’s another industry in our country that’s on three lists. It’s an immediate hair-on-fire issue.” He says a lot of people really don’t know what’s at stake in Japan. It’s the pork industry’s biggest-value market and “the math says we have a big problem.”
Politico says there was a slight glimmer of hope for the pork industry. China bought more than 77,000 metric tons of U.S. pork last week as African Swine Fever continues spreading throughout parts of Asia. It’s the biggest weekly sale to China since the USDA began keeping records.
Source: National Association of Farm Broadcasters