The stance on global trade taken be new US President, Donald Trump, could damage the country’s future pigmeat exports, resulting in knock-on impacts on other exporters, including the UK, says AHDB Pork.
“President Trump has been supporting a protectionist, anti-globalisation agenda which he believes will support the US manufacturing business,” said AHDB Pork in an early analysis of the new trade policies emerging from the White House.
“However, such a stance could damage US pigmeat exports and, being the largest global exporter, this could impact on other exporters, including the UK.”
There are certainly a lot of potential US changes on the new administration’s agenda. These include:
- The desired renegotiation of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), which is particularly relevant to the global pork industry.
- US tariff-free access to the key Mexican market could be under threat, a move which may ultimately benefit EU pork exporters.
- The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is another free trade deal from which the Trump Presidency has now withdrawn. This was a disappointment to the US pig industry, especially with Japan being the second largest destination for US pork exports.
- On the other hand there has been interest from both parties in establishing a closer UK-US trading relationship, in light of the Brexit. This has “unsurprisingly” been welcomed by the US pig industry.
“With trade being such a vital factor in determining the future of the global pork markets, it will be important to follow US trade developments as they unfold over the coming months and even years,” said AHDB Pork.