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U.S. cattlemen welcome ability to export to China
By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent
 
ASTORIA, Ill. — The first shipment of U.S. beef to a Chinese customer under a new export trade agreement with the Asian nation was sent from America’s heartland last week, signaling the end of a multiyear embargo.
 
The shipment, which originated from Greater Omaha Packing in Nebraska on June 14, was a result of the so-called “U.S.-China 100-Day Action Plan” announced on May 11 by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin.

The action plan – the byproduct of a “U.S.-China Comprehensive Economic Dialogue” established by President Donald J. Trump along with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang – was announced after USDA officials negotiated the final details of a protocol to allow the United States to resume commercial shipment of U.S. beef and beef products to China for the first time since 2003.

U.S. beef cattlemen were seemingly united in their praise for the deal, which became official after USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service posted the requirements for its Export Verification program for U.S. businesses shipping to China, and the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service updated its online Export Library specifying China’s requirements for certifying U.S. beef exports.

“It’s a big deal. It’s such a huge market, and we’ve been out of it for almost 15 years. To be able to export directly into a market that big with that many potential customers, it will add to the value of every steer,” said Steve Foglesong, owner of Black Gold Ranch and Feedlot in Illinois’ Spoon River Valley region, and member of the U.S. Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee. “But even more importantly, the southeast Asia market will utilize a lot of the products that we have a hard time moving, all the variety meats we have a hard time moving in our country.”

The timing of the agreement is especially fortuitous for U.S. beef producers like Fogelsong. That’s because China has emerged as a major buyer of beef in recent years, with imports increasing from $275 million in 2012 to $2.5 billion in 2016, according to USDA. At the time of the ban, the U.S. was the largest supplier of beef to China, accounting for 70 percent of the country’s beef imports.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc. (NCBA), for which Fogelsong served as president in 2010, had worked closely with USDA to help reach the export agreement with Chinese officials.

“In recent years, China has become one of the largest import markets for beef, and these terms are a reflection of China’s trust in the safety and quality of U.S. beef,” said NCBA president Craig Uden. “We hope that by getting our foot in the door we can develop a long lasting and mutually beneficial relationship with China.”

USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue called the trade agreement “a great day for the United States and particularly our cattle producers,” while crediting China’s burgeoning middle class for driving up demand for beef products there.

In a USDA news release, Perdue commended President Donald J. Trump for bringing optimism and momentum to U.S. agriculture, along with those responsible for the hardline negotiations that ended China’s long ban on U.S. beef. “I commend the hard work of Secretary Ross, Secretary Mnuchin, Trade Rep. Robert Lightizer and our USDA representatives. Without their dedication and persistence, this would have not been possible,” said Perdue. “I have no doubt that as soon as the Chinese people get a taste of American beef they’ll want more of it.”

The announcement also came as welcome news to U.S. corn and soybean growers, who should see value added to their products due to a projected increase in domestic feed demand for U.S. cattle.

“There’s not a soybean farmer in the country that doesn’t recognize the importance of the Chinese market to his or her success,” said Ron Moore, an Illinois farmer and president of the American Soybean Assoc.

“President Trump and Secretary Ross deserve a great deal of credit for putting together a level-headed, resultsbased (100 Day) plan with their Chinese counterparts.”

Fogelsong, speaking from his ranch in Astoria, Ill., agreed the historic agreement called for congratulations, but cautioned producers to never become comfortable or complacent when dealing with the Chinese beef market.

“The folks at USDA and USTR are to be congratulated. It was a long time coming, and boom-- just like that--they got it done. I know some of the people who have been in on the negotiations and have worked arduously on this issue for years, and we owe them a debt of gratitude for getting this accomplished,” Fogelsong said.

“But the Chinese government has requirements of our packing plants that are sending product over. These requirements were negotiated through the USTR and USDA, and some of them, frankly, are a little onerous. “Typically, what we’ve seen is that all it takes is one little hiccup, and then they shut us off. You can expect the Chinese to be a bit fussy with our packing plants.”

Trump’s 100 Day Action Plan also included commitments to address the current backlog of new biotechnology traits for import into China that has restricted the ability of U.S. crop producers to adopt the latest technologies.

“This week’s announcement that the Chinese have committed to ruling on eight outstanding traits is a major step forward,” Moore said.

“While we understand that this step only clears the current backlog of unapproved traits, we hope that it will signal progress in opening and clarifying China’s approval process.” 
6/20/2017