EU manufacturers warn proposed tariffs can hurt animal feed production

The European Feed Manufacturers' Federation said the proposed tariffs on a wide range of agricultural products, such as feed grain and other feed products, would hurt the European livestock sector.

The European Commission released March 12 a comprehensive list of US products that may face retaliatory tariffs following the Trump administration's announcement of a 25% global tariff on steel and aluminum. The 99-page document features commodities such as grains and soybeans -- a major ingredient in animal feed production.

Pedro Cordero, president of the association that represents EU compound feed manufacturers, said in a statement March 12 that the new proposed tariffs would undermine the long-term strategic partnership in which the US and EU feed sectors have invested for many decades.

"The proposed new Tariffs could undermine these joint efforts and may lead to the disruption of vital feed supply chains, as the EU will continue to rely on essential feed imports in particular for protein-rich feed products like soybeans, but also for maize and other feed grains and essential feed additives (eg Lysine) where the EU faces a structural deficit," Cordero said.

He urged both the US and EU administrations to enter into direct negotiations to remove these tariffs, which would adversely affect the resilience and competitiveness of the EU livestock production system.

The EU is the biggest importer of soybean meal and heavily relies on imports from South America and the US to meet domestic demand.

Offers for soybean meal (48% protein content) FOB Netherlands were around $397/mt March 12.

Last year, the EU imported over 15 million mt of soybean meal and over 13 million mt of soybeans, which are crushed to produce both soybean meal and soy oil, the latter being used in biodiesel production.

"Both sides should explore alternative targeted trade agreements, seeking to boost transatlantic trade for agricultural products, in particular for feed grains and essential feed additives," Cordero said.