At annual U.S.-China trade talks, China “indicated today it would move quickly to review the 11 agricultural biotechnology events [GMO crop varieties] pending approval, and continue our dialogue on access for U.S. beef,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a U.S. statement. “My hope is that over the next 30 to 60 days, these words are met with consistent action.”
The two nations began a “dialogue” this fall aimed at better coordination of GMO crop reviews. U.S. corn exports to China were roiled for months because cargoes included a GMO strain approved by the United States but not China. Chinese rejection of the shipments has led to lawsuits against the company that developed the seeds.
China has banned import of U.S. beef since mad cow disease was discovered in a dairy cow in Washington State. U.S. officials have argued for years that, with the safeguards now in place, U.S. beef is safe. In March, a U.S. trade official said “huge amounts” of U.S. beef were slipping past the ban as importers unloaded the meat in Hong Kong and trans-shipped it into the mainland, said Reuters.
The U.S. statement at the end of meetings in Guangzhou said China agreed to improve its enforcement of intellectual property rights. “The United States also secured China’s commitment to a transparent and expeditious process for developing Geographical Indication-related measures that will help keep this significant market open to U.S. agricultural and other products,” said the Commerce Department release.