The administration continues to review the country?s relationship with China.
Earlier this month, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced four steps the Biden administration will take to realign America?s trade policies towards China, which included a review of the Phase One Trade Agreement.
The agreement ? which was brokered under former President Donald Trump and signed in January of 2020 ? is set to expire at the end of 2021. Reports say China has only reached approximately 62% of its purchase agreement.
USDA economist Bart Kenner recently looked at some of the numbers on U.S. agricultural product sales to China during the first eleven months of the 2021 fiscal year.
AUDIO: Bart Kenner, U.S. Department of Agriculture
?Soybean exports to China fiscal year-to-date were 13.7 billion, up 151% from 5.5 billion this time last year,? said Kenner. ?Corn exports were 5.2 billion, up 1,509%. Sorghum exports were 1.8 billion, up 166%. Beef exports were 1.1 billion, up 788%. Pork exports were actually down. They were 1.1 billion, down 34%. Poultry products are 823 million, up 83%. Cotton exports were 1.6 billion, up 38% from 1.2 billion this time last year.?
USTR Tai says the U.S. plans to start a targeted tariff exclusion process with China, ensuring that the existing enforcement structure optimally serves the country?s economic interests.
