The US pork industry is losing ground in China
A retaliatory measure adopted by the Chinese government is shaking the American meat industry as the pork delivered to the Asian market is now subject to a tariff of 25%.
China has adopted this measure on more than 100 products imported from the US, as the Trump administration decided to apply tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from China.
The measure is to affect the pork industry in the US considering the fact that China is one of the largest markets for pork exports. "China is a price-sensitive market, so any tariff rate increase would affect the competitive position of U.S. pork" announced Dan Halstrom, president and CEO of US Meat Export Federation (USMEF).
In 2017, the U.S. industry exported 309,284 metric tons (mt) of pork and pork variety meat to China, valued at $663.1 million – the third-largest international market by volume and fourth-largest by value. For variety meat exports only, China was one of the largest destination in both volume (181,351 mt) and value ($425.2 million). In fact, China accounted for more than one-third of U.S. pork variety meat exports last year, according to USMEF data.
Other products that are targeted by the retaliation in this trade war are fruits, nuts, wine, aluminium and steel pipes. In total, 128 American products are subject to import tariffs that range from 15% to 25%.
Ironically, the largest pork producer in the US, Smithfield, is owned by a Chinese company, WH Group, based in Shanghai. Representatives from Smithfield have already announced that they are focusing on other markets to balance any losses that may come from this trade war.
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