USMCA Will Help Bolster Red Meat Exports to Mexico

USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom is encouraged by ongoing negotiations between the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and a Congressional working group aimed at bringing the U.S-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to an approval vote in the House of Representatives.

Halstrom notes that while Mexico's retaliatory duties on U.S. pork have been removed and all red meat exports to Mexico are now duty-free under NAFTA, ratification of USMCA would help restore confidence and certainty to the Mexican market. While pork exports to Mexico have rebounded since the duties were lifted, volumes are not yet back to the record-large levels of 2017 and early 2018.

With respect to beef exports, Halstrom says USMCA will complement the new U.S.-Japan trade agreement, which will soon be considered for approval by the Japanese Parliament. He notes that the mix of cuts exported to Mexico differs significantly from the products that appeal to Japanese buyers and consumers.

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The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry. It is funded by USDA; the beef, pork, lamb, corn and soybean checkoff programs, as well as its members representing nine industry sectors: beef/veal producing & feeding, pork producing & feeding, lamb producing & feeding, packing & processing, purveying & trading, oilseeds producing, feedgrains producing, farm organizations and supply & service organizations. USMEF complies with all equal opportunity, non-discrimination and affirmative action measures applicable to it by contract, government rule or regulation or as otherwise provided by law. USMEF is an equal opportunity employer and provider.