News

China is one of the biggest importers of American breeding pigs and other livestock genetic material such as cattle semen. These lucrative niche export markets had been growing, but have dried up since the start of the U.S.-China trade war.

Source: Dairy Herd Management, News, Dairy Production, May 22, 2025

China is a significant market for U.S. swine genetics; U.S. live (breeding) swine exports to China were valued at $15.7 million in 2023. China produces approximately half the world’s pork and needs to import 5,000 to 10,000 head of purebred swine every year – with an estimated value of $15 to $30 million. U.S. exports of live breeding swine from 2017 to 2024 accounted for 36 percent of China’s live breeding swine imports; France and Denmark were our primary competitors. Swine semen does not currently have market access to China.

Source: USDA-FAS Global Agricultural Information Network (Report No. CA2025-0053)

On March 4, 2025, Canada implemented a 25% tariff on an initial tranche of over $20 billion in imports of goods from the United States, including $5.5 billion worth of agricultural products. The list of products is expected to expand on March 25, 2025, to cover a second tranche of an additional $86 billion worth of imports.

Source: USDA-FAS Global Agricultural Information Network (Report No. CA2025-0015)

On February 1, 2025, the United States announced it would impose 10% tariffs on energy imports from Canada and 25% tariffs on all other imports from Canada, effective February 4, 2025. The United States subsequently delayed the entry into force of the tariffs to March 4, 2025.

In response to these tariffs, Canada is imposing reciprocal tariffs of 25% against C$30 billion in imports of goods from the United States, effective March 4, 2025, at 12:01 am.

The government is also issuing a notice of intent to implement a second round of tariffs, and is seeking views on imposing tariffs on $125 billion in imports of additional goods from the United States. This second round of tariffs will be subject to a 21-day comment period prior to implementation.

The government is seeking views from business, stakeholders, and Canadians regarding the impacts of the application of tariffs to the goods listed in the notice of intent March 25, 2025.

[NOTE: The list includes live animals (horses, cattle, swine, goats, and sheep) and additional animal products (semen and other unspecified products).]

Source: Consultations: Department of Finance Canada

USLGE is receiving just over $2 million in export development funding for USDA’s Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) Program for 2025. We are grateful to USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) for its continued support and partnership. Receiving about the same amount as in 2024 provides the stability and assurance needed for industry business planning and growth. This funding is provided as part of a unique gold standard public/private partnership between the U.S. government and the U.S. agricultural sector. “MAP and FMD funding are critical to our ability to support the excellence and availability of U.S. livestock genetics in response to growing global demand,” noted Martin Sieber, President and CEO of USLGE.

“The U.S. livestock genetics industry would not be able to achieve the global access and outreach required for a successful and flourishing industry without support from USDA’s FAS,” emphasized Chip McGaughey, Chair, Board of Directors, USLGE, and Director of Sales Development, Keeneland. Sieber added, “The return on USDA’s investment in export programs is more than $25 for every $1 invested, and this provides a direct benefit to U.S. farmers, ranchers, and producers as well as to the U.S. economy.”

A 2022 study conducted by the U.S. Grains Council determined that the MAP and FMD programs benefited farm economy. From 2002 through 2019, “$12.2 billion (3.4%) was added annually to farm cash receipts, $3.1 billion (4.4%) annually to net cash farm income and $1.4 billion (0.06%) annually to farm assets.” The same study also indicated that the Agricultural Trade Promotion (ATP) Program, which was launched in 2019 and the precursor to the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP), “will generate $11.1 billion in additional agricultural export revenue” from 2019 through 2026.

Support from USDA through the MAP and FMD programs and now the latest iteration of the ATP program as RAPP is critical to the survival of U.S. agriculture. This funding not only allows farmers and ranchers to grow, sell, and export more, it also supports the entire production chain, including processors, packers, shippers, etc. It helps U.S. agriculture achieve a competitive position in the global marketplace, which in turn generates jobs and income back home.

South Africa’s dairy industry is likely to grow in the future due to improving economic factors, despite suffering from many weather and disease related challenges in the past 5 years. This growth may provide opportunities for dairy genetics exporters. In 2025, USDA-FAS/Pretoria forecasts unprocessed liquid milk production to increase by 2% on declining feed costs and forecasts U.S. dairy exports to South Africa (including lactose, whey, and cheese) to increase by 10% on increased consumer spending power. The linked report provides an overview of the South African dairy industry and forecasts production, processing, imports and exports in the 2025 marketing year.

Source: USDA-FAS Global Agricultural Information Network (Report No. SF2025-0005)