The NPPC said it believed a deal with the UK would only be concluded if the latter was willing to eliminate all non-tariff barriers and embrace the United Nations’ food safety standards and other international standards.
The UK and the US have been divided in the past over meat welfare standards such as hormone-treated beef and chlorine-washed chicken.
However, the Council was confident about a trade deal with Japan, which is the US’ largest pork export market, and said President Trump should look to tap the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region.
The NPPC said trade momentum was heading in the right direction following a turbulent year of retaliatory tariffs being imposed on US meat products.
“Producers are hurting because of retaliatory tariffs on pork, which were prompted by the administration’s efforts to realign US trade policy,” said NPPC president Jim Heimerl. “But producers have been patient, and now that patience is starting to pay off, particularly if we get a trade deal with Japan.
“NPPC will not support a deal with the UK unless it agrees to equivalence, meaning that all USDA-approved pork and pork products must be eligible for export to the UK without additional requirements.”
However, Heimerl revealed that he was sceptical of a deal with the European Union and accused them of playing the US “like a drum” in the past.
“We expect the Trump administration to require the EU to eliminate all tariff and non-tariff barriers to US pork so we can export with no additional requirements.”
Trump’s administration has made efforts to clear up disputes with some of the US’ destinations for US pork after recently making agreements with the likes of Canada, Mexico and South Korea to maintain US pork’s zero-tariff access.
