Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, had the chance to speak with United States Meat Export Federation President and CEO Dan Halstrom soon after the close of the USMEF Spring Conference in Fort Worth. The event was attended by stakeholders and regional office reps of the USMEF.
On Tuesday, they discussed the trade situation in China, and yesterday, they spoke about the U.S.’s number one customer, Latin America, and touched on the U.S./U.K. trade agreement. In this, the third part of their conversation, the two men are discussing the good work U.S. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins was doing in Europe earlier this week and the changing dynamics of trade due to tariffs.
“A Secretary [of Ag] getting out and about in international markets… there are several other trips planned over the next several months, including Vietnam and Japan, which are two that would be very interesting for us as well,” Halstrom touted. “Whatever we can do to further normalize relations and follow the science.”
According to Halstrom, the European Union (EU) represents a lot of opportunity spanning beyond beef and pork into other commodities as well.
A challenge of trade with the EU is that often their policy and science don’t line up. One example is the refusal to approve acid spray washes on carcasses, a practice that the rest of the world accepts.
“There are several, but only one of them is approved for the E.U. If we were to be able to get that normalized following science, that would make the ability to produce for the E.U. not only much easier, but also at a much more competitive cost,” Halstrom explained.
Looking ahead to the second half of 2025, Halstrom is cautiously optimistic. Considering the uncertainty around tariffs and trade in general this year, meat exports have done considerably well. Last year was the third-largest export year for beef, and this year, so far, is steady with a year ago. Pork is slightly above the record pace that it was on at this time last year, which was a record year for pork exports.
“I think it is a scenario that you have to think about two ways – with or without China,” he said. “We are all hoping with, and that is certainly what we are assuming, but it is a much different outlook without China. Not so much on volume because a lot of this product will find homes, but the way to maximize value is getting China in the mix.”
He used pork variety meats and beef muscle cuts, like beef short plates, as examples of added-value export products. He expressed optimism in the work being done by the Trump administration and USTR to resume trade with China.
“The one thing that we have to keep in mind, which is the very strong positive, is the demand for our products in terms of taste, quality, and safety,” he reminded. “The proof’s in the pudding, and demand is record-breaking, so we are in a good spot in that regard.”
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