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Mexico’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. pork could inadvertently disrupt the Canadian market, dragging down live hog prices for farmers and squeezing sales south of the border.

In an example of how tariffs targeted at one specific NAFTA country can rattle the others, analysts and industry players say the pork levies hitting the U.S. will distort long-established trade patterns in a manner that hurts all three economies.

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“The problem is we’re a highly integrated market and meat moves among the countries based on demand,” said Gary Stordy, director of government and corporate affairs at the Canadian Pork Council. “Those traditional flows are rarely disrupted but when they are, the impact is felt by our producers very quickly.”

U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum imports have prompted a wave of retaliatory measures from other countries including Mexico, the largest market for U.S. pork exports by volume. As part of its tit-for-tat response, Mexico announced an initial 10 per cent tariff on imports of unprocessed U.S. pork, a levy that will rise to 20 per cent on July 5.