Apr 15, 2005 12:00 PM,
by Joe Vansickle, Senior Editor (952) 851-4670; jvansickle@primediabusiness.com
The U.S. International Trade Commission is expected to vote in April on whether dumping Canadian hog imports have caused or threatened to cause injury to the U.S. hog industry.
“U.S. producers already know the answer to this question,” says Jon Caspers, past president of the National Pork Producers Council and a pork producer from Swaledale, IA.
“Canadian subsidies have distorted hog and pork markets. The Canadians have not reduced hog production since April 1996. Hog producers in the United States have unfairly shouldered all the pain of market adjustment. We will not sit by as part of our industry is unfairly exported to Canada,” he adds.
On March 7, the U.S. Department of Commerce reaffirmed its October 2004 ruling that Canadian producers are dumping live hogs in the United States. The Commerce Department announced that provisional antidumping duties averaging 10.63% will be placed on imports of live hogs from Canada.
There was a lot to be positive about in the pork industry the last week of October. I realize it is difficult to be optimistic when you are still losing $25 to $30/head. I also realize that positive news at this point could be as dangerous as it is welcome. But facts are facts, and we must recognize them.
...
As I begin this week's column, I"m reminded of two different "flip side" statements that may help characterize the topic at hand. The first is the old Archie Campbell schtick - "That's good - no that’s bad," which I have used before. The second reflects President Truman's frustration with economists' incessant use of the qualifier - "on the other hand" - to introduce the contrary opinion on a given topic. President Truman once demanded in his usual colorful language: "Will someone please find me a *!&%$*?>
