November 3, 2020

Petition leads to US trade sanctions against Thailand, pork producer council says

The US Trade Representative (USTR) has announced this month that it is suspending US$817 million in trade preferences for Thailand under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme as the country hasn't made sufficient progress providing the United States with "equitable and reasonable market access" for pork products.

The decision follows a 2018 petition by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) asking the USTR to review Thailand's eligibility for the GSP programme that offers duty-free treatment to certain goods entering the US.

"For years, Thailand has taken full advantage of special US trade benefits, while imposing a completely unjustified de facto ban on US pork. This is hardly a reciprocal trading relationship," said NPPC president Howard "AV" Roth. "We thank the administration for taking this action and hope it results in fair access to the Thai market for US hog farmers."

The US is Thailand's number one export market, with almost US$4 billion of products annually sent to the US under the GSP.

However, Thailand maintains a de facto ban on US pork imports through high tariffs and several non-tariffs barriers. Thailand does not accept uncooked pork and pork offal from the US, and it rarely, if ever, grants import licenses for US pork, NPPC said.

Even if such permits are granted, Thailand imposes a fee for imported pork equal to about US$220 per tonne compared with US$7.50 per tonne for domestically produced pork.

"While the US ships high-quality, safe and affordable pork to more than 100 countries annually, unjustified restrictions have kept US pork locked out of Thailand's large market," NPPC said.

- NPPC