Mexican Retaliatory Tariffs Hit Pork Hard
Revised list targets groups with political clout in election year.
Compiled by staff
Published: Aug 26, 2010
Mexico's expansion of its NAFTA retaliation list to U.S. pork in the long-running trucking dispute with the U.S. means millions in new tariffs on ham and other pork sold in Mexico.
National Pork Producers Council Vice President and Counsel for International Affairs Nick Giordano says U.S. refusal to allow long-haul Mexican trucks into this country under NAFTA now means Mexico will take a pound of flesh out of U.S. pork sales there.
"Our most popular item is unprocessed ham that is now being assessed a 5% tariff, it previously was zero under NAFTA," Giordano said. "A smaller product, but obviously important to some sectors of the industry, cooked skins - what we might refer to in this country as pork rinds. That's a high duty of 20%."
Rind is a small piece of U.S. pork sales of $760 million in Mexico last year. But Giordano says the 5% duty on unprocessed ham is against more than half of all U.S. sales to Mexico. Doing the math, U.S. pork for sale in Mexico will be with almost $25 million in new duties.
Giordano says it's no coincidence the Mexicans are targeting U.S. pork and other sensitive products right before a key U.S. election. They want producers here squealing so U.S. officials hear them.
"I think from their vantage point, putting sectors like pork and apples on the revised list, is evidence of their desire to get some groups who have some political punch in the United States on the list," Giordano said.
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