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NPPC voices ag labor and trade concerns to member of House Ag Committee

A member of the House Agriculture Committee is looking to address labor concerns voiced by the livestock industry.

Minnesota Democrat Angie Craig tells Brownfield she recently talked to officials from the National Pork Producers Council about legislative priorities.

“We’ve got to reform our H-2A visa program. We passed in the House the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which of course would reform that program. But (NPPC) just reemphasized (the need) for year-round labor for our hog producers out there.”

She says trade barriers also need to be addressed.

“I’m a pro-trade Democrat, so how do we open up trade for our producers in places like Vietnam. (that’s) a critical issue that I think we’ve got to address.”

Vietnam lowered tariffs on U.S. pork imports to 10 percent the final six months of 2020, but the tariff rate returned to 15 percent in January.