The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will hold a hearing this week reviewing the Phase One trade agreement with China, originally negotiated during President Donald Trump’s first term. U.S. Meat Export Federation President and CEO Dan Halstrom says the agreement delivered substantial gains for U.S. beef and pork exports. “We saw U.S. beef exports to China increase from 300 million dollars in 2020 to over 2.1 billion dollars in 2022. And pork had a big year as well in 2022 with exports of 1.4 billion dollars, which was almost exclusively because of the Trump administration Phase One deal implemented in 2020.” Halstrom warns that access to the Chinese market has since deteriorated, creating financial losses for U.S. cattle producers. “We estimate that losses of up to 150 per head are being sustained by lack of access into China. But it’s not just the 1.5 billion dollars of lost export sales. It’s the halo effect of having China in the market, because the product mix is very similar across Asia. Without China competing, the losses are upwards of 2 and a half to 3 billion dollars a year.” Halstrom says relisting U.S. beef plants in China’s import system and addressing high pork tariffs will be key priorities as the trade review moves forward.
