December 17, 2010

 

China pledges to reopen market to US beef

China has committed to receiving a US technical team as early as January 3 to begin technical talks aimed at opening China's beef market to US exports.

 

The announcements came out of two days of bilateral trade talks, signaling a further easing of tensions in the growing economic rivalry. Most of the concessions were made on the Chinese side, with the US agreeing to consider Chinese concerns over trade-remedy cases and export controls on sensitive technologies.

 

US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Trade Representative Ron Kirk co-hosted the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT), with Vice Premier Wang Qishan leading the Chinese delegation.

 

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, who also participated in the talks, said one goal is to work out some of the sanitary and procedural issues that need to be resolved to restart beef exports.

 

"Technical talks will resume as soon as possible with the goal of reopening China's market in early 2011," he said.

 

He plans to send a team of USDA officials to China in early January to discuss the planned staged resumption of US beef exports, which have been banned since mad cow disease was discovered in US cattle in 2003.

 

While China has eased those restrictions on paper, an effective ban remains in place that has kept out US beef, a senior US trade official said.