NCC Chairman Clint Rivers, President and CEO of Wayne Farms, on Wednesday represented the industry the White House signing of Phase One of the U.S.-China trade deal.
NCC Chairman Clint Rivers
President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed the eight-part agreement, which includes chapters on intellectual property, technology transfer, trade in food and agricultural products, financial services, macroeconomic policies and exchange rate matters, non-tariff trade barriers, dispute resolution, and a schedule for future negotiations.
The agreement included provisions that require China to finalize a protocol for the regionalization of poultry diseases in the event of an outbreak; fully lift the ban on all poultry commodities, including live birds; and abide by OIE standards for international trade of poultry products.
Also part of Phase One, China will begin utilizing USDA’s Public Health Information System to facilitate the use of electronic transmission of export health certificates and address any backlog of facilities awaiting approval by publishing within 20 business days of receipt the updated list of USDA-approved facilities.
China has agreed to not require any routine audits or inspections of U.S. poultry facilities beyond previously published international standards conducted jointly with the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
The agreement will enter into force within 30 days of signing, which is February 14, 2020.
On November 14, 2019, China reopened its market to U.S. poultry meat, eliminating the ban it had imposed in late 2014. On November 22, 2019, USDA updated its list of facilities eligible for export to China, which was confirmed by China’s General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) on November 22, 2019. Upon that publication, Chinese importers are now able to obtain import licenses to start placing orders.
NCC has confirmed that the first shipment in five years of U.S. chicken paws arrived at the Port of Shanghai on January 11.
At the signing ceremony, President Trump said negotiations for a Phase Two deal will begin shortly.
