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Washington, March 18 –The United
States and China have reached an agreement to reopen the Chinese market to U.S.
pork and pork products, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade
Representative Ron Kirk announced Thursday.
“When I
traveled to China
with U.S. Trade Representative Kirk in October, our discussions with Chinese
officials laid the groundwork for reopening this market,” said Secretary
Vilsack. “This resolution is excellent news for American hog producers.”
“This
agreement is a win for America’s
pork producers, whose safe and high-quality exports can now flow freely into China and
support agriculture jobs here at home,” Ambassador Kirk said. He added that “I
am also pleased that China
affirmed in our meetings that they will base their decisions on international
science-based guidelines. We look forward to working cooperatively to resolve
additional issues, including a resumption of trade in beef.”
Twenty
percent of U.S.
pork production was exported in 2009. Prior to H1N1 trade constraints, U.S. pork and pork variety meats exports to China were
valued at nearly $275 million in 2008. China
was the United States’
seventh largest market, accounting for six percent of U.S. pork and
pork variety meat exports.
On March
17, the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the
People’s Republic of China
(AQSIQ) accepted the U.S.
proposal to resume exports of U.S.
pork, following meetings between Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign
Agricultural Services James Miller, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for
Agricultural Affairs Jim Murphy and Chinese officials in Beijing earlier this week. Pork trade will resume
immediately once both sides finalize the export documentation.
In
October 2009, Agriculture Secretary Vilsack, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk
and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke participated in the meeting of the U.S.-China
Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) in Hangzhou,
China, where China agreed to
remove its ban on pork products. Since that time, the United States and China have worked to implement this
commitment. The United States has repeatedly stressed the need for China to
remove all restrictions on trade in pork products related to the H1N1 virus,
given clear guidance from international bodies like the World Organization for
Animal Health (OIE), World Health Organization (WHO), and Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) that there is no risk to humans from consuming properly
prepared pork and pork products.
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