U.S. pursues action on poultry, beef, biotech crops in China trade talks: official

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CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. officials pressed China on the business of poultry, beef and biotechnology in recent trade talks, a U.S. Department of Agriculture under secretary said on Tuesday, highlighting a few of Washington’s priorities in the negotiations.

The America and China have threatened tit-for-tat tariffs on goods worth as many as $150 billion each in the conflict, by which U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to shut the $335 billion annual U.S. products trade deficit with China.

For agricultural products, the us focused entirely on policy and regulatory issues while in the talks, including “access for poultry, languishing biotechnology trait approvals” and various topics, said Ted McKinney, USDA under secretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, on the conference call with reporters.

McKinney was portion of the U.S. delegation for the talks in Beijing, which ended on June 3. The delegation included as well Gregg Doud, the nation Trade Representative’s chief agricultural negotiator, along with officials.

Sources previously told Reuters the us was pushing China to lower a ban on U.S. poultry imports which the USDA was seeking better access for genetically modified crops into China.

Another issue discussed was “the 100-day plan and many of what aren’t finished there, including the beef protocol,” McKinney said. He did not elaborate further.

In May 2019, China opted for expand exchange U.S. beef within 100 days of trade talks.

“They however were very focused on numbers,” McKinney said of Chinese officials in the Beijing talks.

“We countered by saying and when talking numbers until we talk by using a great deal of a policy and regulatory problems that frankly we got as needed to discuss to go to any numbers that either country might have pursued.”

McKinney said he really wants to hold more trade talks with China. The region could be the world’s top importer of soybeans including a major buyer of other agricultural goods, for example the livestock feed sorghum.

“I don’t believe that many of us got everything we wanted, however think this is the continuation,” McKinney said.

Doud, speaking with an agricultural event in Iowa this morning, also said negotiations with China enjoyed a solution to use.

“You think you agree upon something,” he told a conference of pork producers. “Then you can get upon an airplane and suddenly it really variety of vanishes into thin air.”