USDA: U.S. and China Agree on Reopening Chinese Pork Market to U.S.
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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