Organizations representing producers in the top pork countries – Australia, Chile, Mexico and the United States – are calling for a “comprehensive, high-quality” Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement that eliminates tariffs on nearly all products including pork. In a letter to the TPP negotiators, the groups stated there should be no product or sector exclusions, especially in agriculture.

Also all tariffs and other market access barriers such as Japan’s “Gate Price” be eliminated by the end of the negotiated transition period and all transition periods have “commercially meaningful” timeframes, which should be short and not back-loaded.

The organizations stated that Japan should not get special treatment for its agricultural sector, including exemption from tariff elimination of certain “sensitive products” including pork. The groups stated, “A broad exemption for Japan will encourage other TPP countries to withhold market access concessions, backtrack on current offers, lower the ambition on rules language and possibly unravel the entire agreement.”

Those signing the letter were: Asociacion Gremial de Productores de Cerdos de Chile, Australian Pork Limited, Canadian Pork Council, Confederacion de Porcicultores Mexicanos and the National Pork Producers Council.