Despite better market access to China as part of the 2020 U.S.-China Phase One trade agreement, U.S. pork exports remain restricted because of the Asian country’s tariffs, domestic subsidies, and various sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions, which violate World Trade Organization rules, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) shared in comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
“The People’s Republic of China has long been a critical market for U.S. pork, as China has consistently been a top five market for U.S. pork and pork variety meat exports,” NPPC said in its comments. “In 2025, U.S. pork and variety meat exports to China totaled 367,416 metric tons (mt), down 21% from 467,227 mt in 2024. The value of U.S. pork and pork variety meat exports reached $857.46 million, down 23% from $1.11 billion in 2024.”
China is the largest importer of pork variety meats in the world, accounting for 67% of global imports last year. There is no alternative market to take the volume and value of U.S. pork variety meat as demanded by China, NPPC writes.
“Since 2018, U.S. pork and pork products have faced persistent uncertainty and retaliatory tariffs from China,” NPPC writes. “Entering 2025, duties on most U.S. pork and variety meats stood at 37%, factoring in a 25% retaliatory duty from the 2018 metal tariffs. While these rates spiked to 172% in April 2025, they were reduced to 47%—which includes a 10% “reciprocal” rate—following a truce in November.”
A key component of the November 2025 agreement was a stay on Section 301 tariffs until the end of 2026. Without this delay, U.S. pork would have faced an additional 30% duty, NPPC explains. However, because these waivers are set to expire at the close of 2026, U.S. pork producers continue to face significant trade uncertainty.
“To provide long-term certainty, China’s retaliatory duties on U.S. pork should be eliminated,” NPPC writes. “Furthermore, Section 301 waivers ought to be extended or, ideally, the threat of these elevated tariffs should be permanently removed.”
It’s Time for a Change
Among other restrictions, NPPC explains that China’s requirement that all U.S. pork exports test negative for residues of ractopamine hydrochloride utilized for feed efficiency in hog production. Ractopamine has a maximum residue limit set by the U.N.’s Codex Alimentarius Commission that is widely accepted globally.
China has also subjected pork shipments from some U.S. facilities to increased inspections and testing because of alleged detections of animal diseases, such as porcine reproductive respiratory syndrome. NPPC says the U.S. utilizes vaccines to control the spread of PRRS, which is endemic in China, and certain common testing techniques are known to give false positives when the animals being tested have received vaccinations.
NPPC also commented on USTR’s consideration of a government-to-government mechanism – a U.S.-China Board of Trade – to manage trade between the two countries, noting that it “would enable regular dialogue on market access issues … [and] could function similar to technical committees like those routinely set forth in free trade agreements,” including the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
NPPC believes this mechanism also could use technical experts to ensure progress is being made on commitments related to sanitary-phytosanitary issues and non-tariff barriers.
“China was the No. 3 value market for U.S. pork in 2025, with the pork industry shipping almost $893 million of product there,” NPPC says. “China accounted for 59% of U.S. pork variety meat exports, including feet, heads, stomachs and hearts. There is no alternative market to take the volume and value of U.S. pork variety meat as is demanded by China.”
