US-China trade deal opens opportunities for US beef producers

The US-China trade deal has opened up new opportunities for American beef producers as China has agreed to ease its limits on hormones in beef.

As part of the Phase-One trade agreement, the Chinese government has agreed to ease hormone limit requirements for beef imports.  The new requirements will come into effect within one month.

US beef exporters failed to comply with the stringent norms set by the Chinese government on the hormone levels.

China lifted the import ban on US beef in 2017. This followed a years-long ban after a case of mad cow disease.

US firms have been exporting hormone-free meat since that time. However, according to Bloomberg, hormone-free meat only forms a small portion of American meat production.

The US and China signed the trade deal on Wednesday.

US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) president and CEO Dan Halstrom said: “For the US pork and beef industries to expand their business in China, the world’s largest and fastest-growing destination for imported red meat, it is critically important that China follows international standards for pork and beef trade.

“The Phase One trade agreement lays important groundwork toward this goal, and USMEF thanks the Trump administration for addressing the barriers that have hampered US pork and beef exports to China for many years.”

China has agreed to expand the product scope for US pork and pork products.

In 2019, China’s total red meat imports valued more than $14bn, a 65% increase from 2018. According to USMEF, the US industry expects to capture this market.

In November, the Chinese government revoked the ban on importing poultry products from the US after nearly five years.

The ban was implemented by the Chinese government in January 2015 after the detection of the highly pathogenic avian influenza in the country. This ban covered all poultry breeding stock, including live chicks and hatching eggs.