June 15, 2006

US fails to make any progress with China on beef talks
 

The US and China were unable to reach an agreement on the resumption of US beef imports during their second round of talks this week, according to an industry source.

The US delegation, headed by JB Penn, Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, was to finalise the terms for US beef re-entry. Reportedly, the talks have made no progress from the first round in May.

USDA has stated that the restrictions China imposes on US beef imports would be too strict and it urged the country comply with international trade standards.

A third round of negotiations may take place as China has promised to resume US beef imports by Jun 30, 2006.

The US beef industry sees China as a huge potential market and expects to see strong growth in consumption there.