Market News

The future direction of trade with China

The former Chief Ag Negotiator for the US Trade Representative says China still presents a lot of opportunities for US agriculture.

But, Darci Vetter told attendees of the US Meat Export Federation’s Virtual Spring Conference the Biden administration needs to decide what path it wants to take on the trading relationship.  “Whether we’re going to carve out a separate trade path with China,” she says.  “Or whether we are going to fully reengage with China where trade is one tract of a broader discussion about what our relationship is going to be.”

She says the Phase 1 Trade Deal has greatly benefited the meat sector. However, she says, “I feel like we are now at a point where we are keeping tabs on purchases that if we had a healthy agricultural trade relationship with China they would be making anyway.”

She says she does have concerns with how the success of the trade deal is being measured.  “We are now measuring through a metric that really goes against what our trade rules should,” he says.  “Which is setting quantitative limits instead of focusing on whether we have a normal market-based relationship.”

The USMEF Virtual Spring Conference wrapped up on Thursday.