April 10, 2009

       
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) has requested the US government to slow the WTO accession process for Russia until US pork plants are relisted and Russia signs an "equivalence" agreement with the US.

Over the past year, Russia has delisted or failed to relist 34 US pork plants, meaning 40-50 percent of all US pork production is ineligible for export to the country.

The NPPC said Russia did not identify any health or sanitary reasons for its actions, which are against WTO obligations.

If Russia wants to join the WTO, it needs to play by the rules and stop its blatant actions to restrict US pork, said NPPC President Don Butler.

US pork is safe and the plants are inspected by the USDA, and Russia should accept that the US inspection system is at least as good as the Russian system, Butler said.

In a letter to the president, NPPC and 31 state pork organisations urged the government to press Russia to relist all US pork facilities as a condition for US approval of its accession to the WTO. The organisations also urged the president to withhold Permanent Normal Trade Relations status from Russia until the country recognises the US plant inspection system as equivalent to its system.

Russia is a top destination for US pork. Since the US and Russia signed a 2005 agreement establishing quotas with low tariffs for US pork entering Russia, pork exports to the country have increased by nearly 560 percent to US$476 million in 2008.