The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) is urging the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to review access issues in Africa and the Caribbean.
USTR is conducting its annual review of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which provides favorable access to the U.S. market for products from 30 African countries. In return, those countries are supposed to open their markets to U.S. products, but some—South Africa and Nigeria, in particular—have significant trade obstacles for red meat, USMEF said.
The group also asked USTR to review access under the Caribbean Basin Initiative, urging the USTR to consider market access barriers when evaluating whether to recommend any country as a Caribbean Basin Initiative beneficiary. Of particular concern is Jamaica’s ban on U.S. pork and high tariffs on imported beef and pork.
