Trade Partners Respond to Tariffs with Threats of Retaliation: Ag Groups Concerned

The National Pork Producers Council is very concerned about the steel and aluminum tariffs placed on imports from Canada and Mexico. Both countries have already threatened retaliation. Those concerns arise as Mexico, a key pork export market, has already threatened to retaliate against pork imports. U.S. pork shipped $1.5 billion worth of product to Mexico, and another $792 million to Canada, its fourth-largest market. U.S. Meat Export Federation President and CEO Dan Halstrom says it’s unfortunate if U.S. pork exports to Mexico, which deliver tremendous benefits to both the U.S. supply chain and Mexican consumers, importers, and restaurants, no longer enjoy duty-free access to this critical market. “It’s especially frustrating to see U.S. pork caught up in a trade dispute that has absolutely nothing to do with the pork trade,” Halstrom says. The National Farmers Union says, while they agree with President Trump’s inclination to address unfair trading practices and reduce our trade deficit, provoking a global trade war with our closest allies hardly seems like a solution. NFU President Roger Johnson says, “These on-again, off-again tariffs will likely result in the opposite of their intended effect. Agriculture is always the first casualty in retaliatory tariffs.”