The National Chicken Council (NCC), the National Turkey Federation (NTF), and the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council (USAPEEC) on Tuesday submitted joint comments in support of the proposed rule issued by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to list the People’s Republic of China as a country eligible to export to the United States processed cooked poultry products from birds slaughtered in certified establishments in China.
The group’s outlined support for the rule in three main areas, by stating that:
- The proposed rule is the result of years of careful assessment by FSIS, and is based on sound science and appropriate risk assessment;
- FSIS’s approach is consistent with U.S. international obligations, and in particular, U.S. obligations under the World Trade Organization’s agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary measures; and
- Trade is a two-way street; if we expect our trading partners to accept FSIS decisions, we must also.
The U.S. poultry industry also used the comments to press China into recognizing a “regionalization” approach as it relates to trade and avian disease incidences.
“Many countries already recognize U.S. regionalization for diseases such as avian influenza, and it is our expectation that the U.S. government will insist that China, which does not currently allow for regionalization, will meet its WTO obligation in the future,” the groups wrote.
The comments can be read in their entirety by clicking here.
