US/EU tariffs could harm EU livestock sector – FEFAC

FEFAC, representing European Union (EU) compound feed and premix manufacturers, noted with deep concern the announced US Tariffs against EU steel and aluminium products and the EU counter tariffs covering a wide range of US agricultural products, in particular feed grain and other feed products, according to a recent press release.

“The US and EU feed sector organisations have invested for many decades in long-term strategic partnerships contributing effectively to global feed and food security and resilient feed and livestock production systems at regional level,” said Pedro Cordero, FEFAC president. “The proposed new Tariffs could undermine these joint efforts and may lead to the disruption of vital feed supply chains, as the EU will continue to rely on essential feed imports in particular for protein rich feed products like soybeans, but also for maize and other feed grains and essential feed additives (eg Lysine) where the EU faces a structural deficit.”

Cordero encourages both the US and EU administrations to enter urgently into direct negotiations seeking to remove these tariffs, which will adversely affect resilience and competitiveness of EU livestock production systems.

He recommends that “both sides should explore alternative targeted trade agreements, seeking to boost transatlantic trade for agricultural products, in particular for feed grains and essential feed additives, which can easily be doubled from current 4 Bio € to 8 Bio €, thus reducing the current US Agricultural trade deficit with the EU.”

He referred to the “Trump/Juncker” agreement on soy products in 2018, which triggered a substantial increase of US soy exports to the EU, moving the US for the 1st time into “pole position” for soy exports to the EU. This agreement could be replicated encompassing a much wider range of US feed grain products, including US corn and other co-products, as well as essential feed additives in a move to reduce joint EU/US strategic dependency from China.

Tags: soy, FEFAC, feed grain, tariffs, China, exports, EU, US, agricultural products