Specter Or Partner? China And The Smithfield Hearings

The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry held hearings on the proposed purchase of  Smithfield Foods, the nation’s largest pork producer, by Shuanghui International of China. Testimony included widely divergent views, from a Dartmouth Tuck School of Business professor and dean who endorses the deal “without hesitation,” to a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, who expresses concern about loss of proprietary IP and explains why critics say the deal will eventually lead to pork being imported from China. He reiterates the position of the Commission, that Congress should prohibit investment in any U.S. industry by a foreign company whose government prohibits foreign investment in that same industry. This link is to complete hearing testimony, which includes details about the deal and its implications and a statement from Smithfield CEO and president, Larry Pope.