NPPC Officers Join President Trump for Japan Trade Pact Signing Ceremony

WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 25, 2019 – President Trump and Japanese Prime Minster Abe today signed a trade agreement that will once again allow U.S. pork producers to compete on a level playing field in Japan. NPPC President David Herring and President-Elect Howard “A.V.” Roth joined President Trump for the signing of the agreement in New York during the United Nations General Assembly meeting.

“I am honored to represent U.S. pork producers today at a signing ceremony so important to my fellow hog farmers around the country,” said Herring, a pork producer from Lillington, North Carolina. “We’ve seen market share declines in Japan, historically our largest value export market, since the start of the year when international competitors gained more favorable access through new trade agreements. Once implemented, the agreement signed today puts U.S. pork back on a level playing field with our competitors in Japan.”

Dr. Dermot Hayes, an economist at Iowa State University, estimates exports to Japan could grow from $1.6 billion in 2018 to more than $2.2 billion over the next 15 years under market access terms included in the agreement. 

U.S. pork is highly dependent on exports, shipping more than 25 percent of total production to foreign markets. Other NPPC trade priorities include ratification of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement, which preserves zero-tariff pork trade in North America, and resolving trade disputes with China that will enable U.S. pork producers to capitalize on an unprecedented sales opportunity with the world’s largest pork-consuming nation.

# # #

NPPC is the global voice for the U.S. pork industry, protecting the livelihoods of America’s 60,000 pork producers, who abide by ethical principles in caring for their animals, in protecting the environment and public health and in providing safe, wholesome, nutritious pork products to consumers worldwide. For more information, visit www.nppc.org.