India Finally Allows Import of US Pork and Pork Products

On Monday, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that India has decided to allow imports of US pork and pig products, erasing a long-standing obstacle to U.S. agricultural trade. 

"India's agreement to accept for the first time U.S. pork imports is fantastic news for both American producers and Indian consumers," Tai stated in a statement. 

Vilsack stated that the United States was trying to ensure that the pork industry in the United States could begin shipping products to India as soon as feasible. He said the agreement marked the end of a two-decade search for market access for US pork in India. 

With global sales of pork and pork-based products estimated at $7.7 billion in 2020, the United States was the world's third-largest pork producer and second-largest exporter. The United States shipped and over $1.6 billion worth of agriculture products to India in the fiscal year 2021. 

Last November, India and the United States decided to boost trade of certain agricultural products, including US cherry, alfalfa, and distiller dried grains, and also Indian mango, shrimp, grape, and water buffalo meat, at a revived US-India Trade Policy Forum in New Delhi. 

In September, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with US President Joe Biden in Washington, and they both pledged to boost commercial ties to enhance relationships between the world's largest and wealthiest democracies. 

India is still pushing for the reinstatement of its beneficiary status under the Generalized System of Preferences, a US policy that allows some tariff-free imports from developing countries that lapsed at the end of 2020.