Agricultural News
Negotiations with China Reaching the Final Stages as Deadline to Grant Market Access Draws Near
Mon, 15 May 2017 13:09:18 CDT
News of the Chinese government's announcement that it has set the deadline to have arrangements in place to begin accepting US beef, has the industry thrilled. But still producers must be patient, with one more round of consultation meetings with Chinese officials left to conduct. Kent Bacus of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association says the specifics of this formality are yet to be known, but he told Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays, the devil will be in the details as the two governments wrap-up negotiations.
"We think that most of these concerns have been addressed," Bacus said. "We can't comment as to what those details are, but one thing we can say is that we have really tried to emphasize with the Chinese, the fact that we have safe production systems here in the United States; what we produce is a very safe and high-quality product."
Bacus says the US negotiators have done everything possible to demonstrate American production practices and adds that this last consultation is very important to finalizing the protocols under which US beef will be allowed to be imported by the deadline, which is July 16th of this year.
"That's not too far away and so it's a priority for both the US government and the Chinese government to have this protocol finalized and ready to go," he said. "We're looking forward to seeing what these terms and what this protocol will be."
Listen to Bacus walk Hays through the final steps of the process to reestablishing trade ties with China's beef market, on today's Beef Buzz.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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