(Clive, Iowa) October 1, 2018 – The Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) says it supports recent progress toward opening important world markets for U.S. pork.

On Sunday, the Trump Administration came to an agreement with Canada that was a final step in maintaining zero-tariff access for U.S. pork to Mexico and Canada. The agreement has been sent by the administration to Capitol Hill for ratification, and IPPA encourages the Iowa Congressional delegation to vote in support of it.

“We thank the administration for its diligent work to complete trade agreements, including the one signed last week with South Korea. These agreements maintain zero-tariff access to three of U.S. pork’s top five markets,” said Gregg Hora, IPPA President.

“However, merely ratifying the agreement does not remove the retaliatory tariffs on U.S. pork. We continue to urge the administration to remove tariffs on Mexican steel and aluminum imports so that country will lift its 20 percent retaliatory tariff on U.S. – and Iowa – pork,” Hora said.

U.S. pork is currently on trade retaliation lists that have placed 40 percent of total exports under punitive tariffs.

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