Lamb Producers Seek Import Relief

US lamb producers are seeking relief from imported lamb and mutton through a phase-in tariff rate quota.

Protect American Lamb, a project under the auspices of the R-CALF USA, has filed a petition with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

The 33-page petition shows that imported lamb and mutton, primarily from Australia and New Zealand, have increased 2,363 percent in dollar value and 543 percent in quantity since the early 1990s.

Imported lamb and mutton are not subject to the more stringent production standards required of US sheep producers, the group said, citing the widespread use of compound 1080 for predator control in foreign countries while the chemical has been all but banned in the United States.

US lamb consumption has increased significantly over the past decade but the tide of imports from foreign supply chains has captured all of that increase while domestic production continually declines, according to the petition. It notes 74 percent of lamb and mutton consumed in the United States now originates from foreign soil, while domestic production has declined 60 percent.

US producers are asking Ms. Tai for a Global Safeguard Investigation and a request that Congress establish a phased-in tariff rate quota system over 10 years. During the 10-year phase-in period, the TRQ would be used to encourage the growth in production of the US sheep industry to achieve a 50 percent market share in the United States by year ten.