Tyson Foods President and CEO Donnie King assured analysts on Monday that the meat-processing company is prepared to find new markets if Mexico curbs US imports in response to President Trump’s proposed tariffs.
“Essentially what we would do, whether it be pork or whether it would be chicken, is find other markets,” King said. “We would leverage our global knowledge and expertise to try to move those products if necessary.”
Mexico is a large trading partner for Tyson, she said, but the company is nonetheless confident it can adapt: It has been developing contingency plans around finding new markets for pork and certain chicken parts, such as leg quarters, which make up its imports to Mexico.
“Our teams continuously engage in contingency planning to minimize business disruption from trade or supply chain changes,” King said. “As we’ve done in the past, we’ll leverage our global expertise to identify the best markets for our products amid evolving conditions.”
- As of Monday, Tyson will have a little more time to come up with a plan. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and the Trump administration have struck a deal to delay tariffs for a month, on the condition that Sheinbaum deploy 10,000 troops to the border with the goal of curbing immigration and the flow of illegal drugs.
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Despite the economic uncertainty, King said Tyson is raising its sales guidance for the year as it expects a healthy demand for protein to drive volume.
“We remain confident in our ability to adapt and succeed,” he added. “We look forward to working with the new administration in Congress to support the US economy and we’ll continue to monitor and respond to new policies accordingly.”
However, even if tariffs were imposed tomorrow, it would take time for the impact to reach US business, according to Hamish Woodrow, head of strategic analytics at supply chain platform Motive. He said the immediate impact of tariffs will be “muted,” as many goods are already en route, “meaning the real disruption will be felt in Q2 as businesses adjust to the new reality.”
Companies will also deploy mitigation strategies, he added, such as delaying shipments until later in the year in case policies are changed or exemptions are offered.
“Those who preloaded inventory will likely adopt a wait-and-see approach, holding off on further adjustments until the market reacts,” he wrote. “In the short term, sourcing alternatives are limited, forcing supply chains to pause and reassess long-term investments while monitoring policy developments.”