December 14, 2007

China-US negotiations on beef trade, in a stalemate

US officials announced there was no concrete progress in negotiating with China to re-open its market more broadly to US beef.

US Commerce Secretary, Carlos Gutierrez, said that the US also continues to reject China's offer of only accepting boneless beef from cattle less than 30 months of age, due to fears about bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

Gutierrez clarified that the US would rather not accept something when it deserves more.

US has been seeking full market access to different countries including major beef importers such as Japan and South Korea, since May, when the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) declared all US beef products from cattle of any age eligible for export.