June 21, 2011

US senators want pork exports to Russia

Senators Chuck Grassley and Ben Nelson, together with 26 other Senators, have encouraged US Trade Representative Ron Kirk to work to remove Russian trade barriers to US pork products.

Grassley said Russia's unjustified position against US pork has blocked products from plants that account for 60% of US pork production capacity. He noted one of the issues Russia needs to address before joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is its unwarranted barriers to US pork.

The letter to Kirk outlined two major barriers from Russia to US pork. The first is Russia's unilateral lowering of the amount of US pork it allows to be imported, cutting the previously agreed-upon amount by about half. The second is Russia's use of sanitary restrictions to limit US pork exports to Russia. According to the Senators, the Russian restrictions are not supported by science or valid risk assessments.

The letter urged the Trade Representative to work toward encouraging Russia to ease the unwarranted restrictions and abide by commitments as a precursor to joining the WTO.