How China is using pigs to strike back at the U.S. in Trump-era trade war

In the escalating trade war sparked by former U.S. President Donald Trump, China has found an unlikely pressure point: pigs.

After Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods, Beijing responded in April with retaliatory measures—one of which included slapping heavy tariffs on American breeding pigs and other forms of livestock genetic material. The move has severely disrupted a once-thriving niche export market and cost U.S. businesses millions.

According to a Reuters report, China—one of the largest buyers of American breeding pigs and cattle semen—has significantly scaled back its imports. These exports, vital to U.S. livestock producers, had been growing steadily before the trade conflict began.
In the U.S., some farmers raise pigs exclusively for breeding—an elite segment within the $37 billion hog industry. These pigs are bred for superior genetics, helping produce large, healthy litters destined to become high-quality pork.

China has been a major buyer of such pigs, especially since 2018, when African swine fever devastated its domestic hog population. With nearly half of the world’s pigs raised on Chinese farms, demand for healthy American breeding stock soared—until tariffs brought that trade to a near halt.

The damage hasn’t stopped with pigs. China had also been the largest buyer of U.S. cattle semen, which is used to improve the genetics of dairy cows known for their high milk output. But that market, too, has vanished. “Not one unit of semen is going to China right now,” Jay Weiker, president of the National Association of Animal Breeders, told Reuters. He noted that China once accounted for 25% of all U.S. cattle semen exports. Chinese demand for high-quality dairy genetics surged after a 2008 milk scandal left six children dead and nearly 300,000 others sick. A Chinese manufacturer had added melamine—a toxic chemical—to milk powder to falsely boost protein readings. In the aftermath, China began importing vast quantities of American cattle semen to improve safety and productivity in its dairy industry.

Now, those deals are frozen—literally. Brittany Scott, owner of SMART Reproduction Services in Arkansas, said many international buyers have backed out of orders, leaving her facility stocked with vials of unsold sheep and goat semen stored in tanks of liquid nitrogen.

But sales have plummeted since the tariffs were imposed.

“The lost business has been a punch in the gut,” she said.

Despite a temporary pause in tariffs, exporters remain skeptical about the future. Many fear that once-reliable trade partners like China may permanently shift to suppliers in countries like Denmark, which are seen as more stable and politically predictable.

For now, the fallout from the trade war continues to ripple across America’s heartland—where even pigs are caught in the crossfire.