Zero-Tariff Access To China ‘Would Unleash Tremendous Benefits’ For U.S. Pork, Agriculture

The worst kept secret in the world is that China needs pork. The protein is a staple of the Chinese diet and a major element of the country’s consumer price index. However, more than half of the country’s swine herd has been lost as a result of African swine fever, a disease affecting only pigs with no human health or food safety risks. China represents an unparalleled opportunity for U.S. pork producers to provide the safest, highest quality and most affordable pork in the world. If U.S. pork gained unrestricted access to China, it would be an economic boon for American agriculture and the country, HOTH reports.

 

According to an analysis by Iowa State University Economist Dermot Hayes, securing zero-tariff access to China would reduce the overall trade deficit with China by nearly six percent, generate 184,000 new U.S. jobs and produce $24.5 billion in sales, all in the next decade. NPPC has launched a digital campaign to spotlight the importance of opening the Chinese market to U.S. pork as trade negotiations continue.

 

The United States is the lowest-cost producer of pork in the world, but with 72 percent tariffs into China, U.S. pork producers are not nearly as competitive as Europe, Brazil, Canada and other nations. Zero-tariff access to China would yield tremendous benefits.

 

 

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.