Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on goods from China, Mexico, and Canada, causing significant disruptions in agricultural markets. Two days later, he temporarily suspended most tariffs on Canada and Mexico for one month. In response, China, the world's largest pork consumer, raised import duties on American agricultural and food products worth $21 billion.
According to Shane Smith, Smithfield does not export significant amounts of pork to China but supplies offal products—such as stomachs, hearts, and heads—which are not commonly consumed in the U.S. Despite the increased tariffs, he believes China will remain the best market for these products.
"With tariffs coming in, selling pork becomes more complicated as we look around the globe for markets, considering exchange rate fluctuations and trade restrictions," Smith stated during a Bank of America event.
Tariffs are also affecting U.S. pork producers, who rely on imports of piglets from Canada. Additionally, Canada temporarily suspended imports from Smithfield’s largest U.S. pork plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina, last week. However, Smith clarified that this was due to a technical issue with an offal shipment and not related to the new tariffs.
Smithfield Foods is also closely monitoring potential changes to U.S. immigration laws, which could lead to labor shortages or higher employment costs. The company currently employs around 34,000 workers in the U.S.
"We are paying close attention to all policy changes, but so far, we haven’t seen a major impact—although some others in the industry may have," Smith concluded.
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