Agricultural trade relations warm between U.S., China

Agricultural trade relations warm between U.S., China       During the U.S. China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade in Washington this week, government officials from both countries agreed to improve their agricultural trade relations.
   Since China joined the World Trade Organization in December 2001, the country has become the fifth-largest market for U.S. agricultural commodities. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates shipments to China will total 10 percent of annual American farm exports.
   “We estimate that U.S. exports to China have tripled in just two years,” said U.S. agriculture secretary Ann M. Veneman in a statement Wednesday. “Since 2001 we have seen impressive growth in demand from China for products such as soybeans, cotton, hides and skins, and more recently wheat.”
   China has recently committed to buying up to 3 million tons of U.S. wheat. This sale is valued at about $500 million, compared to $17 million in wheat sales to China in 2001.
   “These export numbers aren’t an accident,” said U.S. trade representative Robert T. Zoellick. “We have worked hard to remove the barriers that stand in the way of our agricultural products. And spurred by these effects, China has taken steps to try to deal with some of the systematic problems with tariff-rate quotas and for the bulk agriculture commodities.”
   However, both Veneman and Zoellick said more work needs to be done, especially in ensuring that China meets its WTO sanitary and phytosanitary commitments. U.S. agricultural and trade officials are also working to reopen China’s market to American beef and poultry products in the aftermath of recent disease outbreaks in late 2003 and early 2004.
   Veneman held meetings in Washington this week with China’s vice premier Wu Yi.
   “I am pleased to report that China will resume some trade — trade in embryos, semen and tallow — and that we will begin further discussions among our experts to enable normal trade to resume on other beef and beef products,” Veneman said.
   The U.S. and Chinese governments concluded their talks by signing a memorandum of understanding to work more closely together to harmonize their sanitary and phytosanitary requirements for agricultural products.
   The MOU will involve information exchanges on relevant laws and regulations, personnel exchanges at the technical level, seminars and training, and cooperative research on disease controls, Veneman said.