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Vilsack discusses US-China trade

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says he will continue to monitor the Phase One Agreement with China.  

“Certainly it is important and necessary for us to continue to see that relationship provide the purchases we’ve recently seen,” he says.

He says he’s confident China will continue purchases if the relationship is focused on trade.

“China needs what the US can provide and China needs a lot of what the U.S. can provide and we’ve seen recent purchases from China reflect their need and our ability to meet the need,” he says. “The reality is our China relationship is complex and it is not simply based on trade. It has multiple layers and on some of those layers we compete with China on the world scene and on some of those layers we are cooperate with China on some major issues like climate change and cyber terrorism. On any given day, because of the complexity and some other aspects of the relationship, it may have a negative impact on our trade relationship.”

Speaking during Commodity Classic, Vilsack said if China fails to meet phase one obligations this year, then the U.S. will have to begin the process of asking China what more can be done to meet the requirements.