The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced on Nov. 1 that it is suspending $817 million in trade preferences for Thailand under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program because the country has not made enough progress providing the U.S. with “equitable and reasonable market access” for pork products.
The decision follows a 2018 petition by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) asking the USTR to review Thailand’s eligibility for the GSP program, one that offers duty-free treatment to certain goods entering the U.S., NPPC said in a statement.
“For years, Thailand has taken full advantage of special U.S. trade benefits, while imposing a completely unjustified de facto ban on U.S. pork. This is hardly a reciprocal trading relationship,” NPPC President Howard “AV” Roth, a hog farmer from Wauzeka, Wis., said in the statement. “We thank the administration for taking this action and hope it results in fair access to the Thai market for U.S. hog farmers.”
The U.S. is Thailand’s number one export market, with nearly $4 billion of products sent annually to America under the GSP. Still, Thailand maintains a de facto ban on U.S. pork imports through high tariffs and several non-tariffs barriers, NPPC said.
Thailand does not accept uncooked pork and pork offal from the U.S., and it rarely, if ever, grants import licenses for U.S. pork, NPPC explained in a statement. Even if such permits are granted, Thailand imposes a fee for imported pork equal to about $220 per metric ton compared with $7.50 per metric ton for domestically produced pork.
Although the U.S. ships high-quality, safe and affordable pork to more than 100 countries annually, unjustified restrictions have kept U.S. pork locked out of Thailand’s large market.
"In short, Thailand is a nation that takes full advantage of U.S. special trade benefits provided under the U.S. GSP program, contributing significantly to its large trade surplus with the U.S. Thailand’s benefits under the GSP program should be reexamined in light of the restrictions it imposes on U.S. pork," NPPC wrote previously in its April 2018 USTR petition on Thailand.
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