Capital Update – For the Week Ending Feb. 27, 2026

Trump Turns to Trade Laws to Maintain Tariffs on Imports

What happened: The United States is continuing to forge trade deals with countries around the world, signing an agreement with Indonesia to enhance access to the Southeast Asian market for American manufacturing, agriculture, and digital products.

Under the agreement, Indonesia will eliminate tariff barriers on more than 99% of U.S. products it imports across all sectors, including on agricultural goods. Among other concessions, the country agreed to grant market access for live swine and genetics, recognize the protection zone established by the United States for African swine fever, and complete a regionalization agreement for ASF. It also will eliminate import licenses, recognize U.S. sanitary-phytosanitary measures, and accept all U.S. pork inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and certified using an FSIS export certificate of wholesomeness.

The United States will maintain a 19% reciprocal tariff on imports from Indonesia but eliminate duties on some goods. Click here to read the agreement.

NPPC’s take: NPPC supports the new agreement with Indonesia, which will open the Asian market of nearly 284 million people to more U.S. pork exports. In addition to eliminating nontariff barriers to American products, Indonesia will establish a quota for U.S. pork, allowing up to 3,000 metric tons to be imported annually with no tariff.

Why it matters: The U.S. agreement with Indonesia, worth $33 billion of trade in agriculture, aerospace, and energy goods, will increase U.S. exports to the Southeast Asian country. Last year, the United States had a nearly $24 billion trade deficit with Indonesia.

Trump Turns to Trade Laws to Maintain Tariffs on Imports

What happened: The Trump administration is turning to U.S. trade laws to maintain tariffs on foreign trading partners after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the president’s authority to impose duties under a law that allows him to regulate international commerce after declaring a national emergency. President Trump had cited rising trade deficits and unfair trading practices as the emergencies that prompted him to place tariffs on some countries.

But in a 6-3 decision handed down February 20, the high court ruled the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize the president to impose tariffs without congressional approval. It did point out, though, that the president has alternative mechanisms for charging duties on imports.

President Trump now is using Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose a 10% tariff on foreign goods, although the President has indicated an intention to increase it to 15%. Effective as of February 24, the duties expire after 150 days – in July; they can be imposed without justification but require congressional approval to be renewed. Under the same ’74 law, Section 301 allows tariffs after an investigation determines a country has “acts, policies, or practices that violate trade agreements or are deemed unjustifiable, unreasonable, or discriminatory, and that burden U.S. commerce.”

Likewise, following an investigation, the president under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 can restrict through tariffs imports that “threaten to impair” U.S. national security, covering raw materials and finished products critical to the country’s defense, infrastructure, and economic stability. The United States currently has Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum products and vehicles from Canada, China, and Mexico, for example.

NPPC’s take: NPPC is continuing to assess the response of foreign trading partners to the Supreme Court decision and monitor Administration action to leverage other tariff authorities.

2025 U.S. Pork Exports Second Highest on Record

What happened: Exports of U.S. pork were $8.4 billion in 2025, just 3% below the record $8.6 billion set in 2024, according to data released recently by the U.S. departments of Agriculture and Commerce and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation. The U.S. pork industry shipped about 2.9 million metric tons of product to foreign destinations last year, also a 3% decrease from the 3 million MT exported the previous year.

Mexico again was the No. 1 volume and value market for U.S. pork producers in 2025, taking 1.24 million MT of pork valued at more than $2.85 billion – both records for that country. The amounts were increases of 7% and 10%, respectively, over 2024. The other the top five markets were, in value order: Japan, which imported about 311,000 MT valued at nearly $1.24 billion; China, more than 376,000 MT valued at over $893 million; Canada, which took almost 183,000 MT valued at $759 million; and South Korea, nearly 207,000 MT valued at about $667 million. All but Mexico saw decreases in U.S. pork imports from 2024.

The near-record year for U.S. pork exports and the drops in exports to four of the top five markets is an indication that other, smaller markets saw growth in pork imports.

In fact, countries that had significant value increases in U.S. pork imports last year over 2024, albeit from smaller baselines, included Costa Rica, which jumped up 19%; Guatemala, a 27% increase; and Honduras, with an 18% increase. Two other notable increases in imports were in the Philippines, where values were 11% higher, and the United Kingdom, which increased imports by 19% over 2024.

What it means for producers: U.S. pork exports in 2025 equated to an average of more than $66 in value from each hog marketed and accounted for 25% of total production. Pork exports supported more than 140,000 U.S. jobs.

Ag Coalition Offers Reforms on WTO, Urges Continued Engagement

What happened: The U.S. Agriculture Coalition for WTO Reform, of which NPPC is a member, sent to the Trump administration a list of recommendations for improvements to the international trade body.

Talks on reforming the 30-year-old World Trade Organization began in earnest during President Trump’s first term, and the United States submitted suggested reforms in December 2025. The president has been critical of some aspects of the WTO.

In separate letters sent last week to Luke Lindberg, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s under secretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, and to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s deputy, Joseph Barloon, and chief agricultural negotiator, Julie Callahan, the coalition noted that the WTO’s trade rules are “extremely important to U.S. agriculture” and said continued engagement of the U.S. government with the organization would bolster the administration’s export objectives.

Alignment between U.S. bilateral and multilateral agreements and WTO rules, such as commitments on agricultural subsidies, sanitary-phytosanitary measures, and other nontariff barriers, the coalition wrote, plays an important role in securing export opportunities for U.S. farmers.

Why it matters: Currently made up of 164 member countries, the WTO deals with the rules of trade between nations. Its goal is to ensure trade flows as smoothly and predictably as possible. According to NPPC and the other coalition organizations, U.S. engagement with and leadership in the WTO are essential to U.S. agricultural interests.

2026 Pork Industry Forum Kicks Off March 4

Look Ahead: The National Pork Industry Forum kicks off Wednesday, March 4, in Kansas City, Missouri.

NPPC will install new officers and elect new members to its board of directors. It also will consider resolutions on industry issues and announce the winners of the Lois Britt Memorial Pork Industry Scholarship, the Neil Dierks Scholarship, and the inaugural U.S. Pork Center of Excellence Swine Legacy Scholarship. Pork industry leaders will be recognized through several awards.

For more information and to register for Pork Forum, click here. See next week’s Capital Update for new NPPC officers and board members, as well as the winners of the scholarships and awards.

House Farm Bill 2.0 Markup Announced

Look Ahead: The House Agriculture Committee will mark up its version of the next Farm Bill – officially the “Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026” (H.R. 7567) – March 3, at 5 p.m. Eastern. The proceedings can be viewed live here.

The measure introduced by agriculture panel Chairman Glenn “G.T.” Thompson (R-PA) includes a fix to California’s Proposition 12, which bans in that state the sale of pork from hogs born to sows raised in housing that fails to meet California’s standards. It also preempts states from adopting similar laws and regulations if they affect livestock production outside their borders. NPPC strongly supports the legislation. Click here to read a section-by-section summary of the bill.

Thompson has indicated he would like the entire House to vote on the new Farm Bill before Congress takes a two-week recess around Easter (April 5).