Meat Groups Question Chinese Policies

June 24, 2002

U.S. meat, poultry and egg groups has expressed their concerns to U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick about new Chinese policies that they say impede imports of U.S. meat and poultry products. The American Meat Institute, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Chicken Council, National Pork Producers Council, National Turkey Federation, U.S. Meat Export Federation and U.S. Poultry and Egg Export Council wrote Zoellick on the subject.

They noted that both China and the United States committed in the Agreement on U.S.-China Agricultural Cooperation to accelerate "the removal of all non-tariff measures restricting trade in agricultural products that cannot be justified under WTO rules."

However, a new centralized import permit system implemented by China upon its entry in to the WTO appears to be delaying imports of meat and poultry products and restricting the volumes and types of products that may be imported, the groups said.

They also noted that China has "de-listed" several U.S. plants for failing to comply with a zero pathogen standard that is impossible for either U.S. or Chinese plants to meet. The letter asks that USTR address and resolve these and other Chinese practices impeding imports of U.S. meat and poultry products.