The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Spring conference was held in San Antonio where members were able to meet face-to-face after many international staff members haven?t been in attendance to a USMEF conference since 2019.
Dan Halstrom, President and CEO of USMEF highlights the importance and benefits of face-to-face meetings after a long time waiting. He talks about several USDA staff members from multiple agencies and one representative from USTR attending the conference to answer questions from producers and exporters.
?We have very good representation from USDA and Dr. Callahan from USTR. She’s a key person in the ag negotiation area. To have those folks sit and listen to our members, especially our exporter members doing the day to day business, that’s the benefit of a meeting like this because finally we’re back together in person and having those discussions really makes it worth the time. And we have a good representation of international staff at this meeting. It’s a good opportunity to tell our story straight from the market.?
Former U.S. ambassador to China and previous longtime Iowa governor Terry Branstad discusses the Phase One trade agreement and what that provides for the U.S. He mentions China?s record amount of pork, beef, corn and soybeans while noting that with China?s market distorting not getting accomplished in Phase One, phase two will be more difficult to do.
?Very long and difficult negotiations that finally led to the Phase One trade agreement. My respect for Ambassador Lighthizer grew through the process. He really worked hard to build a personal relationship with the chief negotiator on the Chinese side, Liu He, who does have Xi Jinping’s ear. That was critically important, and it was successful. Probably one of the most significant accomplishments of my time in China was we finally got a trade agreement that provided more fairness and reciprocity. Bottom line is China has purchased a record amount of beef, pork, corn and soybeans. You mentioned phase two, that’s going to be the hardest part because the Chinese government loves to subsidize their state-owned enterprises. That’s market distorting and it’s something we wanted to address. And frankly, that’s what didn’t get done in the Phase One agreement and I think will be difficult to do. The Biden administration hasn’t really shown any appetite for going after it.?
For more information, visit USMEF.org
