Americans will get the same ham slabs and bacon slices they have enjoyed for generations, even after Smithfield Foods becomes a Chinese subsidiary, Smithfield CEO Larry Pope told Congress on Wednesday.
"It will be the same old Smithfield, only better," Pope said in prepared testimony at a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing.
But several senators weren't buying the bacon-will-be-unbroken story once Hong Kong-based Shuanghui International Holdings owns Smithfield.
Worried about the impact on the U.S. consumer, farmer and even the taxpayer, they expressed qualms about Chinese intentions.
"Is Shuanghui focused on acquiring Smithfield's technology, which was developed with considerable assistance by U.S. taxpayers?" asked Debbie Stabenow, the Michigan Democrat who chairs the Senate committee.
"Can we expect that after the company has adopted Smithfield's technology and practices, they will increase exports to Japan, our largest export market, in competition with U.S. products?" she asked in her prepared statement.
Stabenow also raised questions about:
- Fairness. "Can we really expect increased access for our pork products in China?"
- Consumers. "Will we see volatility in prices?"
- Precedent. "One pork company alone might not be enough to affect our national security, but it's our job to be thinking about the big picture."
The deal is being reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS, which monitors and reviews foreign investments.
The Salt
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