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Last week the Biden Administration launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). It’s a U.S.-led trade initiative that includes Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
But, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) continues to push for better market access through the elimination of tariffs and non-tariff barriers in a number of the IPEF countries. The IPEF talks are expected to focus on supply chain issues, clean energy and climate change, infrastructure, and taxation and anti-corruption. They will not address tariff barriers.
The U.S. recently negotiated a temporary reduction in tariffs on U.S. pork going to the Philippines and Vietnam. NPPC is advocating for permanent tariff cuts, which could be achieved under the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership if the U.S. joins that 11-nation trade bloc or through market access agreements as part of the IPEF.
Farmers for Free Trade, an agriculture trade advocacy group that includes NPPC, also has been urging the White House to pursue a more ambitious IPEF deal, one that includes agricultural market access.