What could emerge as a result of reciprocal trade agreements and frameworks announced by the Trump administration? Experts said they are optimistic about additional export opportunities in Europe and Southeast Asia (ASEAN) if trade barriers ‒ tariff and non-tariff ‒ are addressed.
U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Vice President of Economic Analysis Erin Borror moderated a panel during the recent USMEF Strategic Planning Conference on Nov. 14 with Jihae Yang, vice president of Asia Pacific, Director of Export and Technical Services Courtney Heller, and Jim Remcheck, director of export services. Borror and the panelists agreed there’s an array of trade barriers that continue to prevent the red meat industry from reaching its trade potential in specific markets within those regions.
“In the EU, we’re still working on all of the trade issues that fall outside of the hormone ban that really shut things down back in 1989,” Heller said. “As we began working with the Trump administration, we detailed all the extra requirements that need removed to ease the process inside the packing plant, through labeling and putting product in containers to ship to the EU. And this is product that is raised specifically for the EU or the UK. It’s highly specialized and costs at least $100 extra per head, or if we’re talking about pork, about $60 more. So it’s very difficult to send it anywhere else and get the same return on that investment.”
U.S. beef faces tariff disadvantages in the ASEAN region because Australia and New Zealand, along with some other suppliers, have free trade agreements throughout the region. The U.S. also faces a host of non-tariff barriers.
“We have to chip away and tackle some of these technical market access barriers to trade that are really hindering our opportunities,” Remcheck said. “The single greatest barrier we face is the facility-by-facility approval and registration process. That’s sort of an overarching, cross-cutting issue that we see throughout the region, and the primary thing keeping us from reaching our market potential.”
Protectionism Roadblock in the ASEAN Region
Protectionism is a serious problem in the ASEAN, Yang explained. One example is how import permit processes can be abused to help protect local producers. Two other aspects that hinder market development efforts in the region are cold chain infrastructure and limited financial capacities of importers.
U.S. red meat opportunities and several promotional initiatives are contributing to the industry’s market development progress in the ASEAN region, Yang added.
“You may remember that we had only two people on staff 25 years ago, and now we have 12 people in the region,” Yang said. “That demonstrates how much we are penetrating into the market and developing our own programs to address market needs. Our strategy is supply chain development, not just in the foodservice sector, but also including distributors, retailers and further processors. The demand is there and our staff is there, working to build close working relationships with key trade partners.”
