U.S. Producers Seek Duties on Canadian Pork

WASHINGTON —  The National Pork Producers Council said Thursday that it has formally asked the U.S. government to impose import duties on pork products from Canada, claiming that Canadian farmers are subsidized and compete unfairly with American hog farmers.

Council President Ray Hankes said a petition was filed Wednesday with the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Commerce Department asking that countervailing duties be imposed on fresh, chilled and frozen pork products from Canada.

State pork associations and a number of U.S. meatpacking companies also signed the petition. A ruling on the council’s petition is expected in about six months, Hankes said.

“A countervailing duty would eliminate the unfair advantage Canadian farmers have over U.S. pork producers because the Canadian government subsidizes its hog production,” Hankes said in a statement released here. “Canadian pork producers can benefit from more than 20 potential subsidy programs.”

Pork Exports Up 52%

There has been an import duty on live hogs from Canada since July, 1985, a move that was upheld by the U.S. Court of International Trade during a lengthy appeal process.

But the American producers contend that the import duty on live hogs doesn’t prevent Canada from slaughtering its hogs and shipping the pork to U.S. markets. The Commerce Department ruled in 1985 that the import duties on pork products were justified.

The U.S. Court of International Trade, acting on an appeal by the Canadian Meat Council, overruled the Commerce decision.

As a result, Canada has increased its shipments of pork into the United States by more than 52% since 1984, Hankes said.

The council also said that imports of Canadian pork have reduced the revenues of U.S. hog producers by as much as $3.37 per 100 pounds of hogs marketed in the first nine months of 1988, according to a study by economist Glenn Grimes of the University of Missouri.