2018年CRI Interview with US National Pork Producers Council Spokesperson

 

Interview with the U.S. National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) Spokesperson Jim Monroe.

Chinese authorities have begun imposing¹ tariffs³ worth an estimated 3 billion US dollars on US goods in response to the Trump⁴ administration's duties on imported Chinese steel and aluminum⁵.

The decision to add tariffs on 128 US imported products came into effect on Monday.

The National Pork Producers Council in the United States represents hog⁶ farmers and pork producers' interests.

Our reporter Liu Min has spoken with the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) Spokesperson Jim Monroe to get hog farmers' opinions on the growing trade dispute between China and the US.

Liu Min: So Mr. Jim Monroe, how important does the Chinese market mean to the Unites States in terms of pork exports?

Jim Monroe: Exports overall are very important for U.S. pork producers. Of all the pork that is produced in the United States, we export more than 26%. China is a very important market for U.S. pork. We produce a little over 20 billion Dollars of pork overall, and 6.5 billion Dollars of that is exported. Of that amount, 1.1 billion Dollars is exported to China. Last year, it was the second largest U.S. pork export market by volume. We shipped over a billion Dollars of pork products to China. You can understand how important it is the market for us. 

Liu Min: The United States has a smaller population but consume a lot of pork. So if there is a great loss in the amount of pork exported to China and this translates to excess pork production, do you think the American domestic market can consume or make use of this excess amount of pork?

Jim Monroe: You know it's important to know that exports will drive all of the growth for the U.S. pork industry. You know we have strong demand for pork in the United States, but it's a mature market, and consumption level sustained about the same for the last several years. Markets outside the United States, where developing countries for example are adding more protein to their diets, that's where the growth is gonna come from. So markets like China, Mexico, Japan and South Korea, those are very very important markets for us. 

Liu Min: What was the initial reaction from American farmers when they first learnt about the tariff² concerning pork exports to China?

Jim Monroe: Our job and mission is to advocate to the U.S. government about the public policy interests of our U.S. pork producers. And again, their number one public policy interest is trade and exports. So any time there is any potential restriction⁷ on our export opportunities, hog farmers and U.S. pork producers are very concerned. They are certainly concerned about the emerging trade war with China, and again, the Chinese market is very important to us. Obviously, China is the largest pork consuming nation in the world, we wanna export more pork to China, not less. 

Liu Min: Can you give us an example or an idea of what the annual net loss will look like for farmers who were producing pork for Chinese consumers, do you have any of the statistics?

Jim Monroe: I can tell you this, the average value of a hog, you know a hog that was taken to the market in the United States last year, was 249 Dollars per hog. More than 53 Dollars of that is driven by exports. You know, close to a third of the value of a hog is driven by exports, so any time you restrict export opportunities, it creates negative financial impact for them. We would be at a severe competitive disadvantage, you know, other countries also export to China. When U.S. pork can compete on a level of plain field, we do very very well. We produce the highest quality, the safest, and the most affordable⁸ pork in the world. 

Liu Min: So at this moment, on behalf of the American pork industry, what should be brought to the attention of heads of states, President of the United States Donald Trump and President of China Xi Jinping?

Jim Monroe: We believe in free trade. For the countries that we have free trade agreements with, and that's, we have 20 free trade agreements, the United States. We ship more pork to those 20 free trade agreements countries than we do to the rest of the world combined. So free trade works for us. It has driven a lot of growth for the U.S. pork industry and it's gonna continue to drive our growth. So we expect all countries to follow international rules, and to trade fairly. And to resolve trade disputes in a way that doesn't harm businesses, farmers or consumers.

1 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

2 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

3 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

6 hog   

n.猪；馋嘴贪吃的人；vt.把…占为己有，独占

参考例句：

• He is greedy like a hog.他像猪一样贪婪。
• Drivers who hog the road leave no room for other cars.那些占着路面的驾驶员一点余地都不留给其他车辆。

7 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

8 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。