Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins suggested on Sunday that the European Union is using "fake science" to back up concerns over hormone use in U.S. livestock to justify its restrictions on U.S. pork imports.
Rollins, in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union," defended President Trump's reciprocal tariffs announced this past week, slamming trade partners, including the EU, for imposing certain restrictions.
CNN’s Jake Tapper pushed back, noting the EU's import restrictions on pork are slightly different from other tariffs imposed, noting, “just in point of fact, the reason that the European Union — even though they are our fourth biggest market for agricultural products, as you know — don't take as much American pork as you would like is because they have issues with hormones used in pork.”
When Tapper tried to move on to the next question, Rollins doubled down.
“But wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold on, Jake. No, no, no ... This is really important. You can't just say that,” she said.
“So here's the bottom line. They are using fake science and unsubstantiated claims to not take our products,” Rollins said. “It's not just the tariff numbers. It's the way they have treated our products.”
“’Oh, sorry, we can't take your beef since 2002 because you use a certain type of feed,'” Rollins said, paraphrasing an argument she hears often from Europeans. “That's just absolute bull. It is not correct and not appropriate.”
She fiercely defended U.S. suppliers' products.
“Our suppliers, our farmers and ranchers, we produce the safest, the most secure, the best food in the world. And so to use that, for the EU to say, 'Oh, oh, my goodness, we can't do it because of this reason,' it's absolutely wrong and it's not based on sound science,” she said.
When Tapper told the secretary she can “take that up with the Europeans,” Rollins replied, “I will.”
