Tuesday, April 11, 2017

President Trump strikes deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping to reopen Chinese market to U.S. beef

President Donald J. Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this week to discuss trade relations, and a deal has been made that has U.S. cattle producers rejoicing. After a 13-year ban on U.S. beef following a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), China has agreed to lift the trade barrier and reopen the market. This is significant news as Global AgriTrends calculates the greater China region, which includes China, Hong Kong and Vietnam, as a $7 billion market. However, there are still some regulatory hurdles before this becomes reality. According to Rita Jane Gabbett for meatingplace.com, “In a note to investors, Stephens Inc. analyst Farha Aslam cautioned, however, that China has twice before agreed to grant market access to U.S. beef but regulatory hurdles have prevented any real trade to materialize. “Since then, beef industry groups have been calling on the Trump Administration to take action on the issue. Details were not immediately available on how this new agreement will move the issue forward from the September agreement.”...more

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