Since joining the World Trade Organization 13 years ago, China has become the largest customer for U.S. farm exports, buying nearly $26 billion worth of goods in 2013. “Notwithstanding this success, China remains among the least transparent and predictable of the world’s major markets for agricultural products, largely because of uneven enforcement of regulations and selective intervention in the market by China’s regulatory authorities,” says the U.S. Trade Representatives office in an annual report to Congress.
It cites restrictions on U.S. beef imports, imposed years ago as a defense against mad cow disease, “overly restrictive” standards for poultry meat, the slow pace of review of GMO crops and significant increases in “domestic subsidies and other support measures for its agricultural sectors.” China agreed last month to an annual multi-ministry dialogue with the United States on science-based agricultural innovation.