US, China still negotiating over pork trade resumption

It has been over a week since China announced its decision to lift the country's ban on US pork, but negotiations continue over the terms for US pork exports to resume, according to a US Department of Agriculture official.

"Negotiations are ongoing," said the USDA official, who asked not to be named. "They are looking at the lingering issues in order to resume pork trade."

The fact that US pork exports haven't begun flowing again to China has some industry representatives concerned, especially because the severity of those "lingering issues" and the degree to which the US and Chinese negotiators are split over them are unknown.China banned US pork earlier this year after a human outbreak of swine flu, or AH1N1 influenza.

China was a major importer of US pork in 2008, according to USDA data that showed $580 million of US pork exports to the country.

The US and international scientists have said studies show that the AH1N1 virus cannot be transmitted to humans by eating pork.

Joe Schuele, director of communications for the US Meat Export Federation, said the group advised its members that China's original communications that it was lifting its ban might be "premature."

US negotiators, Schuele said, are taking care "to make sure that we don't have a lot of unworkable conditions that are going to cause problems for our exporters."

The US-based National Pork Producers Council is "hopeful" that US exporters will be able to begin shipping pork to China again soon, spokesman David Warner said, but acknowledged that it is primarily up to China now to follow through with its promise.

"We support the US government's efforts to get the Chinese to open their market to US pork, and we're frustrated that this hasn't gotten done yet," Warner said.