Bipartisan Letter Asks USTR to Prioritize Pork Market Access in Vietnam
The National Pork Producers' Legislative Action Conference made advocating for market access in Vietnam one of its top three priorities, the trade group said April 14. The NPP Council urged farmers to ask their representatives to sign onto a letter led by Reps. Ron Kind, D-Wis.; Darin LaHood, R-Ill; Dusty Johnson, R-S.D.; and Jim Costa, D-Calif. That letter, sent to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, asks, "While you discuss the full range of trade issues with Vietnam, including those subject to Section 301 investigations, please consider pressing for further market access for U.S. pork."
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The lawmakers said retaliatory tariffs from China have hurt pig farmers, and the spread of African Swine Flu in Vietnam has increased the need for imports. Trans Pacific Partnership countries and the EU both have a tariff advantage over the U.S., the letter noted. When Vietnam lowered its most favored nation tariffs from 15% to 10% for frozen pork, "we saw US pork exports double in the second half of 2020 compared to the first half of the year," they wrote, but that reduction expired at the end of 2020.
"The surge in U.S. exports during the tariff reprieve coupled with Vietnam’s growing population and cultural preference for high-quality pork demonstrate that the United States is barely scratching the surface of its export potential to Vietnam," they wrote. U.S. pork producers exported about 25,000 metric tons of pork to Vietnam last year; Vietnamese consumers purchased 2.5 million metric tons of pork.