March 23, 2018

 

US pork industry: China tariffs to seriously hurt rural economy

 

 

The US pork industry on Friday (Thursday in the US) expressed concern that possible Chinese tariffs on US pork could have a significant negative impact on rural farmers.

 

China on Friday threatened to slap several US goods including pork with higher import duties in retaliation to US President Donald Trump's tariff hike on a host of Chinese goods including steel and aluminum.

 

"We sell a lot of pork to China, so higher tariffs on our exports going there will harm our producers and undermine the rural economy", said Jim Heimerl, president of the US National Pork Producers Council and a pork producer from Johnstown, Ohio.

 

"No one wins in these tit-for-tat trade disputes, least of all the farmers and the consumers", he added.

 

Last year, the US exported $1.1 billion worth of pork products to China, making the East Asian country the No. 3 value market for US pork.

 

According to the NPPC, many economists including Dermot Hayes of Iowa State University, have cautioned that tariffs on US agricultural products could disrupt exports to China.

 

'Severe economic consequences'

 

It added that lost sales would have severe economic consequences for America's farmers, who shipped nearly $20 billion worth of goods to China in 2017.

 

The US restrictions on Chinese imports come after an inquiry by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) into China's practices related to technology transfer, licensing and intellectual property rights.

 

USTR's investigation determined that US companies have lost billions of dollars from being forced by China to disclose intellectual property and to transfer technology.

 

Heimerl said, though, that all countries should resolve trade disputes in a way that doesn't harm businesses, farmers and consumers.

 

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said it was willing to negotiate a settlement with Washington to "avoid damage to overall Chinese-US cooperation".

 

"The Chinese side urges the US side to resolve the concerns of the Chinese side as soon as possible," the ministry was quoted as saying in a statement.