Mexico Hits U.S. Pork, Other Products with Duties

Mexico has published a list of products it will hit with import duties, including U.S. pork products like legs (hams) and shoulders. The duties will be at 10% initially and rise to 20% on July 5.The duties are a response to the Trump administration announcement last week that they will hit imports of steel and aluminum from Mexico and other countries with duties.The Mexican government briefed Mexican pork producers on the action Monday, Reuters reported. Mexico's pork industry association OPORPA is supporting the decision, noting there are more supplier options out there, including Canada, the European Union (EU) and Brazil. Canada already enjoys duty-free access to Mexico via NAFTA and the EU has favorable treatment via the trade deal they finalized with Mexico earlier.Mexico imported nearly 650,000 metric tons of pork legs and shoulders in 2017 worth some $1.07 billion, according to government data, with total Mexican pork imports at 840,000 metric tons for the year. The 20% duties imposed by Mexico will also apply to U.S. apples and potatoes with duties of 20% to 25% on some U.S. cheese and bourbon.Mexico will also open a 350,000-tonne tariff-free quota for imports of pork legs and shoulders from other suppliers.