(June 4, 2003)

• The most important trade initiative now underway for U.S. pork producers is the negotiation of a new WTO agreement. This is because global pork tariffs average 77 percent. Even in Japan - America’s largest pork export market - U.S. pork exports are severely limited due to a gate price system and safeguards designed to protect Japanese producers. Moreover, the U.S. pork industry - which is not eligible for export subsidies and receives virtually no domestic support -- must compete globally with subsidized pork from the European Union and other countries. These impediments must be overcome in any new WTO agreement on pork with safeguards abolished and global pork tariffs reduced to the levels prevailing on pork imported into the United States.

• U.S. pork producers therefore are aggressively pursuing in the WTO agricultural negotiations a “zero-for-zero” initiative. Under this initiative, countries would totally eliminate, in the shortest possible time frame, all tariffs, all export subsidies and all trade-distorting domestic subsidies for pork and pork products. In late 1999 a bipartisan group of 29 U.S. Senators sent a letter to U.S. Trade Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky endorsing this initiative. In late 2002, another bipartisan group of 29 U.S. Senators once again endorsed the zero-for-zero initiative on pork. In addition, the pork industries of the Canada, Chile, and Mexico also support this initiative. Producers in other countries are also interested in the initiative.

• Pork producers support the Administration’s proposal for agricultural trade in the WTO negotiations and the tariff cutting formula contained in that proposal. We are particularly pleased that an integral part of the U.S. proposal calls for sector-specific negotiations that will include “deeper tariff reductions” that “ . . . go beyond the basic reductions that will apply for all products.” This enables request/offer negotiations to achieve deeper-than-formula reductions for specific products. This segment of the negotiation will provide the opportunity to pursue the zero-for-zero initiative in the pork sector.

• The zero for zero initiative should be incorporated into the FTAA. U.S. pork producers urge the United States and the other countries in the Western Hemisphere to advance the zero for zero initiative on pork and pork products in the FTAA negotiations.

• Many of the Western Hemisphere countries have sanitary barriers which are not based on science and which unreasonably restrict pork imports from the U.S. and from other countries. It is imperative that these barriers be removed prior to the implementation of the FTAA. U.S. pork producers expect that all USDA-approved pork facilities will be eligible to ship pork throughout the Western Hemisphere.