Agriculture Groups Worried About Import Restrictions

Jul 12, 2017

The National Pork Producers Council and 17 other food and agriculture organizations, representing the vast majority of production agriculture, today sent a letter to the Trump administration urging it to refrain from placing restrictions on imports of steel and aluminum. The organizations are very concerned that such restrictions will boomerang against U.S. food and agriculture exports.

The groups warned that “the aftermath [of restrictions on steel and aluminum imports] could be disastrous for the global trading system and for U.S. agriculture in particular.” The groups pointed out that many countries that export the metals to the United States are also large importers of U.S. agricultural products. “The potential for retaliation from these trading partners is very real,” said the groups.

Under the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Article XXI, national security can be a legitimate reason to restrict trade, but it rarely is cited.

“No country can dictate another’s national security needs,” the organizations wrote, “so now every country with a sensitive industry would know that it could follow the example of the United States and find a national security reason to circumvent trade commitments, no matter how flimsy the reason might be.”

Click here to see more...

Video: Sweetener Effects on Gut Health - Dr. Kwangwook Kim

In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Kwangwook Kim, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, discusses the use of non-nutritive sweeteners in nursery pig diets. He explains how sucralose and neotame influence feed intake, gut health, metabolism, and the frequency of diarrhea compared to antibiotics. The conversation highlights mechanisms beyond palatability, including hormone signaling and nutrient transport. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Receptors responsible for sweet taste are present not only in the mouth but also along the intestinal tract.”

Meet the guest: Dr. Kwangwook Kim / kwangwook-kim is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, specializing in swine nutrition and feed additives under disease challenge models. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from the University of California, Davis, where he focused on intestinal health and metabolic responses in pigs. His research evaluates alternatives to antibiotics, targeting gut health and performance in nursery pigs.