American pork and beef have been included on a list of products expected to receive improved trade treatment from China as talks between the two countries continue, Farms.com reported on 5 October. The US meat industry welcomed the move as a first step towards easing the high tariffs and non-tariff barriers that have held back its exports.
"It was great to see the inclusion of beef and pork on the list of non-sensitive goods, which will set the foundation for addressing persistently high retaliatory tariffs and trade-limiting non-tariff barriers on U.S. meat exports," said Julie Anna Potts, president and chief executive of the Meat Institute, who thanked Ambassador Greer for his efforts to win greater access to China. She added that negotiators would still have to deal with the remaining, "highly technical" barriers.
China matters most to beef exporters for the cuts American shoppers buy least. Variety meats and offal, which fetch little at home, are valued by Chinese buyers and add to the value of each animal processed. Industry groups say stronger export demand could give ranchers more confidence to rebuild cattle herds, and that selling more abroad can ease pressure on domestic supplies.
The two governments are also setting up a technical agricultural working group under the Board of Trade, which is expected to bring officials and industry together to work through the barriers that remain.
One of them is the suspension of several US beef plants, which China removed from its eligibility lists after detecting substances such as ractopamine or melengestrol acetate (MGA). US industry representatives argue those actions did not fit the spirit of earlier trade agreements and want a clear, enforceable procedure so that a plant cannot be shut out indefinitely.
The meat announcement came in a week when China cut tariffs on several US farm goods, including corn, wheat, sorghum, dairy and meat, but left soybeans out, according to a Farms.com market review of the week to 2 October.
For pork producers, too, wider access matters: China is one of the world's largest pork-consuming countries. Industry groups said negotiations take time and that the outcome for farm income will depend on how the remaining technical barriers are settled.
Source: Farms.com
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