News Article – 

On Tuesday the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced updates to the U.S.-China Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement. These updates show signs that China is moving to meet the agricultural commitments they agreed to in the deal that went into force on February 14th.

China’s Vice Premier Liu Hi confirmed post-agreement that China would purchase at least $40 billion in agricultural products each year over the duration of the two-year deal. As we begin to see China address commodities and products discussed in the text of the Phase One Deal, let’s take a deeper dive into some specific progress made to date.

  • Poultry: U.S. poultry exports to China have recently resumed, and China also agreed to a regionalization agreement – a critical priority for U.S. industry. The regionalization agreement means that, in the face of a domestic poultry health crisis, unaffected regions of U.S. can continue exporting to China.
  • Beef and Pork: China expanded the list of U.S. beef and pork products eligible to enter China, including processed meat products.[1] In addition, China has notified the U.S. of maximum residue levels for three hormones commonly used in beef production. USDA estimates that these and other recent regulatory changes could lead to an additional $1 billion dollars in annual beef export to China.
  • Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS): China updated its list of U.S. companies eligible to export distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) to China. This coupled with the removal of other trade barriers is a step-in allowing U.S. exporters to recapture the market they held back in 2015.
  • Animal Feed: In the animal feed market, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a facilitated process for registering animal feed manufacturing facilities looking to export to China. China also announced a more streamlined process for registering new U.S. feed products for export.

Many Chinese importers have reported they are beginning to receive tariff relief on their imports. As U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Robert Lighthizer said: “We recognize China’s efforts to keep the commitments in the agreement and look forward to continuing our work together on trade matters.”

NASDA looks forward to the continuation of progress on trade issues of utmost importance to our members, including biotechnology and non-tariff trade barriers on food and agriculture products. We will continue to advocate and support the use of science-based requirements and work with our federal partners to open new markets for farmers and ranchers across the United States.

[1] China has in fact agreed to import all beef, pork, and poultry products except the ones listed on page 45 of the Phase One Agreement.