In comments submitted to the U.S. Trade Representative opposing the proposed modifications to the Section 301 actions, the Meat Institute called for comprehensive trade agreements as a long-term strategy to level the playing field for meat and poultry companies and to hold China accountable for its actions.

“The Section 301 tariffs and resulting retaliatory measures imposed by China have caused undue harm to U.S. agricultural exports, including meat exports. U.S. trade policy, such as the one proposed in this Section 301 action, should not inflict pain on domestic producers, companies, and workers, as this one has and will continue to do if implemented,” said Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts in the comments. “Instead, restoring U.S. leadership in international trade through the pursuit of high-standard, comprehensive trade agreements that level the playing field for American companies and workers would be a more effective long-term strategy to counter the legitimate concerns USTR attempts to solve in this rulemaking. Market diversification initiatives, coupled with strategic competition with China, will lift all sectors of the U.S. economy without exacerbating tensions or existing economic hardship.”

The full comments can be found here.

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“A tit-for-tat exercise in tariff escalation does not make U.S. supply chains or key economic sectors, like agriculture, more secure or resilient,” said Potts. “Instead, such a policy increases costs for consumers, importers and exporters, constrains the ability of small- and medium-sized companies to grow and compete in the global marketplace, and is antithetical to the Administration’s pursuit of a worker-centric trade agenda.”