North American Meat Institute Applauds Phase One Trade Deal with China

WASHINGTON, DC – The North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) today applauded the Phase One trade deal with China, a vital and growing market for the meat and poultry industry. President Trump and Vice Premier Liu signed the agreement in a ceremony at the White House earlier today.

“We are encouraged by the Phase One deal with China, which eliminates non-tariff barriers to trade with our fastest growing market for meat and poultry products. We will continue to work with the Trump Administration to negotiate greater access to Chinese markets,” said Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. “It remains vital to address retaliatory tariff issues, which have made it difficult to export to China.”

The Administration is expected to release additional details of the agreement today. The U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, said there is a commitment to increase China’s overall agriculture purchases to $40 billion compared to the $24 billion in agriculture products the U.S. exported to China in 2017. The deal will go into effect February 3, 2020.

The North American Meat Institute is the leading voice for the meat and poultry industry.  The Meat Institute’s members process the vast majority of U.S. beef, pork, lamb, and poultry, as well as manufacture the equipment and ingredients needed to produce the safest and highest quality meat and poultry products.