The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) submitted comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on its 2026 National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, which details significant barriers to U.S. exports of goods and services, U.S. foreign direct investment, and U.S. electronic commerce in important export markets.
Published annually since 1986, the NTE looks at agricultural trade barriers such as tariffs, burdensome facility registration requirements, sanitary-phytosanitary regulations, import licensing requirements not based in science, and other measures that lack adherence to international science- and risk-based standards, NPPC says.
“The NTE Report helps U.S. negotiators in their efforts to reduce or eliminate trade barriers and is a valuable tool for enforcing U.S. trade laws and agreements,” NPPC says in a statement. “Trade barriers limit U.S. agricultural exports, which are vital to America’s farmers, ranchers and the overall U.S. economy, supporting about a million U.S. jobs.”
Pork exports contribute significantly to a producer’s bottom line. Last year, producers shipped more than $8.6 billion of pork products to foreign destinations.
In its comments for the most recent report, NPPC listed 22 countries and the European Union as having varying tariff and/or non-tariff barriers limiting U.S. pork exports.
Key points NPPC made in its comments include:
- Brazil: De facto ban on U.S. pork imports that lacks scientific justification. It requires U.S. pork to be frozen or tested for trichinae.
- China: Ban on the feed additive ractopamine despite an international standard allowing its use. China also has an onerous facility registration system.
- India: Proposed additional export certificate with additional attestations that are not relevant to food safety or based on science.
- South Africa: Prohibition on pork offal and trichinae-related freezing of pork.
- Thailand: De facto ban on U.S. pork imports and a ban on ractopamine use.
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