WASHINGTON, DC – Some good news for the livestock trade came this morning with China expanding access for U.S. beef and pork. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has updated its Export Library for China according to U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) President and CEO Dan Halstrom.
“This is an exciting day for the U.S. beef and pork industries, which have waited a long time to have more meaningful and reliable access to China,” says Halstrom. China is the fastest-growing beef import market in the world.
According to Brownfield News, Joel Haggard, senior vice president for the Asia-Pacific with the US Meat Export Federation says, “All beef and beef products, including processed beef items, from cattle of all ages will be eligible to ship to China. And China’s moved toward the adoption of international standards by establishing maximum residue levels for commonly used hormones in cattle production. They also recognized the efficacy of the US’ cattle traceability system.”
USMEF said that US beef would continue to gain market share in the fastest-growing beef market in the world while shipments of US pork have increased in recent months.
“The changes announced in the Export Library will benefit pork exporters looking to expand their business in China, as well as producers and everyone in the US supply chain,” Halstrom said. “US pork and beef still face retaliatory duties in China, but a tariff exclusion process implemented by the Chinese government earlier this month is providing some level of relief.
He continued, “While elimination of all retaliatory duties is still the best way for China to level the playing field for US red meat, the exclusion process is expanding opportunities for importers and for the US industry.”
These changes were among the provisions negotiated in the United States-China Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement.
China is working through the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, which has been traced to China’s Hubei Province and linked to wet markets in Wuhan. The United States is dealing with an outbreak of COVID-19 that is affecting the entire country.
