When we said goodbye to 2018 the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), went into effect for six countries: Japan, Mexico, Singapore, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.  That number moved to seven on Monday, with Vietnam officially part of the former TPP.  That means countries that remain in the CPTPP will see significant reductions in import duty rates to Vietnam.

 

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And this could be big news for the beef industry.  U.S. Meat Export Federation Economist Erin Borror said Vietnam is a significant market.

 

“There’s an emerging food service industry that’s got a lot of excitement.  We’ve also got some presence at retail, so it’s an exciting and dynamic and truly emerging market.  But price is clearly very important. So this tariff advantage is really going to matter.”

 

Borror added when it comes to America’s competitors in beef, they will enjoy large advantages because of the implementation of CPTPP.

 

“Australia and New Zealand are already at 0% through their free trade agreement in the ASEAN region.  So the change with TPP is really for Canada and Mexico and so the tariff rate for boneless beef from all other TPP suppliers beside Australia and New Zealand drops from a base rate of 15% to 5% and will be to 0% next year.”

 

For all beef products from the U.S., tariffs will remain at least in the double digits.

 

 

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