[author: Clint Long]

For more than a decade, U.S. meat exports to South Africa and Peru have faced significant entry barriers. In March, these countries agreed to remove their barriers, which will lead to increased export opportunities for U.S. meat producers.

In South Africa, various government measures in place during the past 15 years significantly limited imports of poultry, pork, and beef from the United States. As reported in the Trade and Manufacturing Alert, South Africa and the United States reached an agreement in June 2015 to allow 65,000 tons of chicken imports from the United States to enter South Africa annually without antidumping duties. Yet South Africa’s “sanitary restrictions” continued to prevent imports of pork and beef from the United States. These restrictions threatened South Africa’s eligibility under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which provides duty-free treatment to most imports from beneficiary countries.

In January 2016, President Obama determined that “South Africa is not meeting the requirements” of the AGOA and suspended benefits for South Africa effective March 15, 2016. After President Obama’s determination was published, and before March 15, South Africa removed the remaining import barriers. As a result, U.S. poultry, pork, and beef exports may enter South Africa, and President Obama revoked his suspension of South Africa’s AGOA benefits.

Meanwhile, the United States also was negotiating with Peru to remove barriers on imports of U.S. beef. In 2003, Peru imposed “burdensome certification requirements . . . called the export verification program,” which limited the volume of U.S. beef exports to Peru even after the two countries entered into a trade promotion agreement in 2009. In March, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman announced that Peru had removed these barriers on imports of U.S. beef.

The removal of these measures in South Africa and Peru will bring significant benefits and opportunities to the U.S. poultry, pork, and beef industries. According to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), U.S. exports of these products to South Africa “could reach up to $160 million annually.” USTR also stated that – even with the restrictions in Peru – the “United States exported $25.4 million of beef and beef products to Peru” in 2015.