Capital Update – For the Week Ending March 21, 2025

U.S. Pork Facilities Registered to Export to China

What happened: Working with U.S. government officials, NPPC helped secure registration renewals for more than 300 U.S. pork packing plants and cold storage facilities eligible to export to China.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative engaged with China’s General Administration of Customs to renew for five years the registrations of plants and facilities, which were set to expire or recently had expired. Export registrations for more than 1,000 U.S. meat plants granted by China under the 2020 Phase 1 trade deal with the United States expired March 16; others expired in February.

NPPC’s take: NPPC applauded the efforts of USDA and USTR to prompt China to renew the registrations for U.S. pork plants and facilities and will continue to advocate for market access for U.S. pork products.

Why it matters: China is an important destination for certain types of U.S. pork products, such as offal, that return more value to U.S. producers than they do in other markets. More than 475,000 metric tons of U.S. pork valued at more than $1.1 billion were exported to China in 2024, and about 55% of pork variety meat (offal) exports go to China.

Exports account for more than 25% of U.S. pork production and support more than 155,000 U.S. jobs. Last year, U.S. producers exported $8.6 billion of pork products, which added the equivalent of more than $66 in value to each hog marketed.

USDA to Make Packing Plant Line Speeds Program Permanent

What happened: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is taking action to formalize waivers for pork processing facilities that operate with faster processing line speeds, a move hailed and strongly championed by NPPC.

Under the 2019 New Swine Inspection System (NSIS), half a dozen pork packing plants had been running faster line speeds during a time-limited trial period, which, after several extensions, was set to expire May 15.

In March 2021, a U.S. District Court struck down the NSIS line speed provision, citing a lack of worker safety data. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) in November 2021 implemented a time-limited trial for six NSIS facilities to use increased line speeds for one year while collecting data for evaluating the impact of the faster speeds on workers. Results from a rigorous study showed that line speeds are not associated with – and are not the leading factor in – worker musculoskeletal disorder risk at plants. Employee safety has always been a priority for the swine industry.

Rollins has charged FSIS with eliminating “outdated administrative requirements that have slowed production and added unnecessary costs for American producers.” In addition to making it permanent for packing plants to have the ability to run faster line speeds, FSIS no longer will require plants to submit redundant worker safety data.

NPPC’s take: NPPC strongly supports making the NSIS line speeds program permanent, which can increase pork packing capacity and alleviate supply issues.

Why it matters: Without faster line speeds, packers could see a decrease in capacity and a drop in pork prices, with economists estimating impact to producers of about $10 per head. Ensuring sufficient harvest capacity at packing plants is critical to the ability of the U.S. pork industry to provide products to consumers worldwide.

NPPC Urges Canada to Exempt U.S. Pork from Retaliatory Tariffs

What happened: NPPC urged the Canadian government to exempt pork from any retaliatory tariffs levied on U.S. products in response to President Trump’s duties on imports from Canada.

The United States exported more than $850 million of pork to Canada in 2024, while that country sent $1.7 billion of pork to the United States. Additionally, Canada exported more than $560 million worth of live swine to the United States last year, primarily to U.S. finishing and slaughter facilities where they were comingled with U.S. swine, and much of the pork was later exported back to Canada.

Trump has pledged to impose the tariffs on Canada – and China and Mexico – as a way to reduce the flow of illegal immigration and fentanyl into the United States, as well as to address an $80 billion trade deficit with Canada.

NPPC’s take: In written comments to Canada’s Department of Finance, NPPC noted that “[T]he tit-for-tat tariff exchanges will disrupt supply chains that have been built up over decades. We request that Canada seeks to preserve the benefits of the integrated North American market to the maximum extent practicable, including by excluding U.S. pork imports from retaliation.”

Why it matters: NPPC vigorously advocates for trade and market access, which allows for the highest value markets for pork products – and supports U.S. producers and their communities across the nation.

NPPC Wants USDA to Reconsider Climate-Smart Agriculture Rule

What happened: NPPC asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reconsider a proposed regulation on “climate-smart agriculture” (CSA) crops used as biofuel feedstocks because it fails to consider manure’s role in providing a renewable source of crop nutrient and reducing greenhouse gases.

On January 17, which was the last business day of the Biden Administration, USDA published an interim rule to establish guidelines for quantifying, reporting, and verifying greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to the production of biofuel feedstock crops. The rule covers CSA practices that could reduce GHG emissions or sequester carbon, including reduced till and no-till, cover crops, and nutrient management, such as the use of nitrification inhibitors. Despite numerous comments to the agency urging it to recognize the important role in crop production manure plays as “not only the original sustainable and organic renewable resource but also as a superior soil conditioner,” USDA’s Office of Energy and Environmental Policy decided to not recognize the use of manure nutrients as a climate smart practice under the regulation.

NPPC’s take: NPPC wants USDA to reconsider the rulemaking and the process for developing CSA technical guidelines. It pointed out in its comments that “[m]anure is the original closed-loop recycled nutrient and the preferred source of nutrients by countless farmers across the country.”

The organization also noted that agronomically sound use of manure rather than commercial nitrogen fertilizer to produce crops reduces the net carbon intensity (CI) score of the feedstock being produced. “This practice must be included in the list of practices for which … Cl scores are calculated,” NPPC stated, pointing out that manure use has other environmental benefits, including improved soil health, better nutrient cycling, and support for a more circular economy, where “wastes” are put to productive and efficient uses.

Why it matters: Current scientific literature shows that replacing some amount of commercial fertilizers with manure maintains annual crop yields, increases soil organic carbon storage, reduces GHG emissions, and reduces crops’ carbon footprint.