US announces new agreement to allow US pork & products into India for first time

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on Monday announced that the Government of India has agreed to allow imports of Washington's pork and pork products into New Delhi for the first time. According to a press release, the agreement follows the successful revitalisation of the US-India Trade Policy Forum held in New Delhi in November last year, during which Tai raised the importance of access for US pork with the Indian Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal. 

"India's agreement to allow US pork imports for the first time is great news for US producers and for Indian consumers. We will continue working to strengthen the US.-India trade relationship and I appreciate Minister Goyal's efforts to facilitate this important development," said Ambassador Tai.

‘Positive movement in US-India trade relations’

Separately, Secretary Tom Vilsack said that this new opportunity marks the culmination of nearly two decades of work to gain market access for US pork to India - and it signals positive movement in US-India trade relations. He added that the US will continue to work with the Indian government to ensure that the US pork industry can begin shipping its high-quality products to consumers as soon as possible. 

Meanwhile, it is to mention that as per the press note, back in 2020, the US was the world’s third-largest pork producer and second-largest exporter, with global sales of pork and pork products valued at $7.7 billion. In the fiscal year 2021, the US exported more than $1.6 billion agricultural products to India. 

(Image: Twitter/ANI)