Meat Institute To USTR: Continue Important Work To Eliminate Barriers To Trade Of Meat And Poultry Products

The Meat Institute today called on the Trump Administration to build upon the America First Trade Policy agenda’s recent success in Europe, the United Kingdom and Southeast Asia by continuing to address remaining significant barriers to trade in markets important for the meat and poultry industry.

“Exports add value to every animal produced and in turn increase demand for U.S. corn and soybeans. For example, on average, pork exports contribute $64 in value to each hog that is marketed in the U.S. and U.S. beef exports yield more than $400 in value per head of cattle,” said Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. “Consequently, the resilience of the U.S. meat and poultry industry is inextricably linked to U.S. trade policy and attendant initiatives that foster U.S. meat and poultry export growth. However, the industry’s export potential remains limited by unjustified sanitary barriers, prohibitive tariffs and tariff rate quotas, and onerous registration and approval requirements for exporting facilities, among other impediments.”

The Meat Institute submitted comments in response to the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) “Request for Comments on Significant Foreign Trade Barriers for the 2026 National Trade Estimate Report.”

The Meat Institute’s comments cite the following issues as barriers to U.S. meat and poultry market growth:

• China Continues to Renege on Commitments Made in the U.S. - China Phase One Agreement
• China’s Retaliatory Sect. 232 and 301 Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. Meat Exports Constrain Growth
• Despite Progress, Persistent Regulations Impede U.S. Beef and Pork Exports to Taiwan
• Opportunities to Access Growing Markets in Southeast Asia are Constrained by Persistent Trade Barriers: Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam
• Removing Ongoing Restrictions on Beef, Addressing Other Emerging Concerns are Necessary to Fully Implement KORUS
• European Union and United Kingdom Policies Unduly Restrict Meat and Poultry Exports
• Increasing Establishment Registration Requirements Risk Undermining Market Access for U.S. Meat and Poultry Exports in Global Markets, like Hong Kong
• Build on the Momentum with Australia to Advance Progress for U.S. Beef, Pork, and Poultry Exports
• Longstanding Barriers Preclude Beef, Pork, and Poultry Trade with South Africa
• Precedent-Setting Protections for Common Meat Names Must be Replicated
• Proactive Efforts to Address Foreign Animal Disease are Essential to Preserving Trade and Business Continuity

“The Trump Administration’s America First Trade Policy Agenda, though, has reinvigorated American trade policy and has demonstrated that it is capable of proactively addressing these unfounded barriers, which continue to proliferate, and which curtail U.S. meat and poultry export potential, while harming America’s farmers, ranchers, and workers that produce the most nutritious, abundant, and efficient food supply in the world,” said Potts. “In only a few short months, the Trump Administration has made progress in Europe, the United Kingdom, Southeast Asia, and other critical markets, and the Meat Institute welcomes the opportunity to continue to work with the Trump Administration to reassert American leadership to advance U.S. meat, poultry, food, and agriculture trade in a manner that revitalizes our farm communities and supports broad-based economic growth.