Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 12/23/16


The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) on Thursday sent Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack a letter seeking an update on negotiations with China for the resumption of U.S. beef exports to that country. 

USCA was among many other U.S. beef industry stakeholders to applaud China’s announcement in September that it would end a 13-year ban on U.S. beef, originating in 2003 upon the first discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the U.S. Industry leaders called it an important first step but acknowledged the work ahead in negotiating terms of trade.

“USCA respectfully requests an update on the status of those negotiations,” the organization wrote in its letter. “We understand that Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s announcement was an important first step towards securing Chinese markets for U.S. beef; we’d like to see that dialogue continue until an agreement is reached for the exportation of all U.S. beef products.

China consumes nearly 13 percent of the world’s beef and is expected to increase their imports of red meat by about 24 percent in 2016, as compared to previous years.

“As producers of the highest quality beef in the world, we are eager to begin exporting to a country with growing demand for meat products,” USCA said. 

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