May 24, 2018

US hopes for more biotech crops to enter China under trade deal 
 

The US is seeking better access for imports of genetically modified (GMO) crops into China as part of a trade deal currently under discussion between the two sides, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The subject, long a major irritant in agricultural trade between the countries, is a main issue for the USDA, said a biotech industry source with knowledge of the USDA discussions.

"I can say with full confidence that biotech is one of the key issues for USDA in this conversation with the Chinese," the source commented.

After months of trade tensions following US President Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs on several countries including China, both the US and China are nearing a deal that could see China buying more American farm goods, sources said.

Those goods are expected to include top US farm products such as soybeans and grains, as well as beef and other meat. US exporters are currently grappling with tough Chinese quarantine requirements on many of their products, including corn, soybeans and pork.

China will likely to ship more US soy after Beijing signaled to grains purchasers they should buy more to help ease tensions between the two top economies, trade sources revealed.

While the specific demands regarding US biotech are not known, Washington has repeatedly cited the issue in trade talks with Beijing in recent years.

China does not permit planting of GMO food crops, but it does allow the import of GMO soybeans and corn for use in its huge animal feed industry.

However the approval process for new GMO strains is slow, unpredictable and not based on science, the biotech industry has said.

As the world's top buyer of soybeans and a major buyer of other grains, China's slow approval process stalls trade by forcing agrichemical firms to restrict sales of new products to American farmers until they get Beijing's go-ahead.

That can take several years, according to earlier industry complaints.

China promised to speed up a review of pending applications during 100-day trade talks with the US last year, and it approved four new GMO products for import in the weeks following those talks.

But it has not approved any other products since then.

The industry had expected another meeting of its scientific panel, the National Biosafety Committee, to take place late last year, but no meeting occurred, according to industry sources.

"Biotech was among one of the key issues in the 100-day plan last year and there's still a lot of unresolved issues from that plan," the source with knowledge of USDA's discussions said.

Another industry source said China needed to overhaul its regulatory system, and not simply approve some pending applications.

"Results in the past year were not satisfactory," he added.

Beijing has in the past held back approvals of imported GMO products amid concerns about anti-GMO sentiments in the country.

- Reuters