China, US Still Split On Beef Trade Terms
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--U.S. and Chinese government officials remain split over how restrictive Chinese regulations will be on U.S. beef when trade eventually resumes, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said Wednesday.
USDA officials, speaking on terms of anonymity, said restrictions China wants to place on U.S. beef are too severe, and USDA is pressing China to adhere to international standards for trade.
The USDA has sent delegations to Beijing twice in the past several weeks in an effort to restart beef exports to China. A third trip may be necessary, one USDA official said.
China, along with most Asian countries, shut its borders to U.S. beef in December 2003 after the first discovery of mad-cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, in the U.S. About two months ago, China agreed to begin buying U.S. beef, but that announcement didn't specify when trade would resume or under what terms.
USDA officials, though, said China pledged to resume beef imports by June 30. In 2003, before the USDA discovered BSE, the U.S. exported 12,422 metric tons of beef to China, worth $28.4 million.
The U.S. has previously agreed to allow countries such as Japan, Taiwan and South Korea to place regulations on U.S. beef that are stricter than those stipulated by international guidelines. However, USDA doesn't want to do that with China or any other countries, one official said. Recently, U.S. beef industry representatives have sharply criticized deals made by USDA to open foreign markets to U.S. beef as complex and restrictive.