PTAC attack

Feedstuffs, November, 2004 by Charlie Arnot

The Pork Trade Action Coalition (PTAC) continues to rail against antidumping duties on Canadian feeder pigs imposed by the Department of Commerce in mid-October. The group ran a full-page advertisement recently in the Des Moines Register. Bearing the headline, "Don't Tax Our Pigs," the ad was signed by 77 Iowa hog farmers.

The advertisement contends that without access to Canadian pigs, "thousands of independent farmers in Iowa and other states may go out of business." The text accuses large packers, many of whom own their own herds, of seeking unfair advantages and profits from the duties, which, under the Byrd Amendment, may flow to producers who claim and prove that Canadian imports hurt their business. The ad fails to acknowledge that the World Trade Organization...