The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) is one of the agricultural organizations represented on the USDA trade mission to Peru and Chile. The delegation, which is led by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, traveled to Peru and will conclude its trade mission in Chile on Friday, March 18.

John Hinners, USMEF assistant vice president for industry relations, is part of the U.S. delegation. In this week’s USMEF audio report he explains that while Peru and Chile are participants in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, U.S. beef and pork already have favorable access to these markets through previous free trade agreements. All U.S. red meat currently enters Chile tariff-free, which has helped both beef and pork exports gain traction in the market. Peru is a large destination for U.S. beef variety meat items such as tripe, hearts and livers, and these products will be tariff-free by 2018. All red meat exports to Peru will be tariff-free by 2020.

Listen to the USMEF update here: Weekly USMEF Audio Report