Halstrom: ‘Cooler Heads Will Prevail’ to Prevent Trade Wars with Mexico, China
Tariffs have been the talk of the ag industry now that President Trump has been reelected as President.
On Monday, Mexico’s Economic Minister Marcelo Ebrard suggested placing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products if President Trump follows through with a plan to impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexican imports if they continue to allow illegal immigrants to pour into the U.S.
Dan Halstrom, President and CEO of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, spoke with Hoosier Ag Today during the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Convention in Kansas City. He believes that the trade relationship between the U.S. and Mexico has been going strong for too long to go sour.
“The fact that we have such a long history with Mexico—and Canada for that matter—through NAFTA and now USMCA and it’s turned into one of the most important agricultural relationships for the industry as a whole,” he says. For U.S. beef, pork, and lamb for that matter, it’s one of the largest exporters. So, I think that in the end, cooler heads will prevail. And I know there’s a lot of talk about tariffs and this and that, but nobody really knows.”
He says that both countries rely heavily on each other for ag trade.
“What I do know is the relationship [between the U.S. and Mexico] is strong. The commitment of the Mexico trade to the U.S. is also very strong and very reliant. And you could argue that we’re a bit reliant, especially on the pork side with Mexico, so our ag economies are very intertwined. In the end, we’re very optimistic that this will all be worked out in a way that should benefit both sides of the border.”
Meanwhile, how does Halstrom feel when it comes to the possibility of Trump raising the tariffs on China and entering into a trade war with them as well?
“China is what it is, and the industry will react accordingly,” says Halstrom. “I think it’s a very important market. That being said, we’re busy diversifying with a lot of other markets as well. At the same time, we’re not overly reliant on China.”
U.S. food and ag sales to Mexico surged by seven percent during the 2024 fiscal year, making the North American neighbor the No. 1 ag export customer, according to Census Bureau data tracked by the USDA. China fell to third place behind Canada in export purchases.
CLICK BELOW to hear Hoosier Ag Today’s radio news story with Dan Halstrom, President & CEO of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) during the NAFB Convention in Kansas City.
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