Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Lauds Progress on US-China 100-Day Plan

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., reacted favorably to the Department of the Treasury’s progress report on initial actions taken under the bilateral U.S.-China 100-day plan on economic cooperation reached in April (see 1704100008). Among other things, a Treasury fact sheet described pathways that the U.S. would take to open its market to Chinese cooked poultry imports and that China would take to open its market to U.S. beef imports (see 1705120003). Roberts in a statement (here) said ongoing discussions between the two nations could have “tremendous benefits for agriculture.” “Negotiating market access for U.S. beef products into China has been a prolonged effort, and I will remain cautiously optimistic until I see the first shipment of American beef land in China,” Roberts said. “USDA and USTR, along with the Departments of Commerce and Treasury, have made great strides thus far. Having U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer and the newly created Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs on board will bolster those activities. I’m hopeful they’ll get to work on other export markets as well.”

U.S.-China Business Council President John Frisbie said in a statement (here) that his group has engaged both U.S. and Chinese governments to highlight trade issues outstanding between the two countries. He said Treasury’s announcement shows that the U.S. and China are quickly working to implement the 100-day plan and that the nations are progressing on important economic issues. But he added: “Implementation matters, and more remains to be done.”