The Value of “Made in USA”: Impact of Chinese acquisition of a US Company on Consumer Willingness to Pay

In this study, we explore how the acquisition of Smithfield, the world’s larger pork producer, by a Chinese firm Shuanghui, on Chinese consumers’ WTP to meat product using experimental auctions. We conducted two sets of experiments, one when the acquisition was still pending approval and the other after its approval. Our results indicate that the acquisition benefits Shuanghui in particular and other Chinese firms in general in terms of consumer’s willingness to pay. On the other firms, the general impacts on US firms might be negative, probably due to expected lower price or reduced perceived difference between domestic and imported meat products.