imports

A Commerce Department agency has authorized up to 20 permits for deep-water aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico that eventually could double the finfish output of the gulf. Fish farming in the ocean would help satisfy the growing world appetite for seafood, but it also is a formidable challenge, writes Virginia Gewin. The story, produced in partnership with FERN, was published in Ensia.

Ending a visit prompted by a meat-inspection scandal, the EU food safety commissioner said Brazil's meat inspection system "must be independent and not under the influence of politicians and other actors," reported Reuters. EU commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis told the wire service that EU restrictions and stepped-up checks of meat from Brazil may not be removed in the near term.

U.S. officials repeatedly have prodded China for a faster and more open system for deciding whether to approve the import of new genetically engineered strains of crop. A U.S. business group says China is headed in the opposite direction by taking longer to approve a smaller number of GMO varieties — only one in 2016, reports Reuters.

With the safety of Brazilian beef in question in a meat-inspection scandal, the USDA said it will re-inspect and test fall shipments of beef from the South American country for pathogens. The USDA said none of the 21 facilities targeted by Brazilian police have shipped meat to the United States.

With a scandal clouding Brazil's meatpackers, Montana Sen. Jon Tester announced legislation for a 120-day ban on U.S. imports of meat from the South American country. The ban will give USDA "time to comprehensively investigate food safety threats and to determine which Brazilian beef sources put American consumers at risk," said Tester's office.

Fish and produce are the imported foods associated with the most outbreaks of foodborne illness, say researchers who studied four decades of records. In a study published in the CDC journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases, the scientists say imports were cited for an average of three outbreaks a year during 1996-2000, or 1 percent of outbreaks, and an average of 18 outbreaks per year from 2009-14, or 5 percent.

The world will spend $1.17 trillion on food imports, including freight costs, this year, the smallest figure since 2010 due to low prices for meat, dairy, and grains, said the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

Ruling that its domestic producers have been "substantially" harmed, China's Commerce Ministry announced anti-subsidy duties of 10-10.7 percent on imports of distillers dried grains, an ethanol co-product used as livestock feed, from the United States beginning on Friday, said Xinhua.

The world's largest pork producer and consumer, China, has soared into the lead as the world's largest pork importer, accounting for one-fourth of the world market. China will import 2.4 million tons of pork this year, a million tons more than Japan, the previous leader, says a semiannual USDA report.

In a step that settled two WTO disputes brought by Vietnam, the United States rescinded anti-dumping duties against the Minh Phu Group for its shipments of frozen shrimp. The Commerce Department said anti-dumping duties will remain in place for all other exporters of warm-water shrimp from Vietnam.

For nearly two decades, the United States has imported more agricultural products from Europe than it exports to the continent.

A USDA analysis of FDA food inspections over a 15-year period found that seafood, vegetables and fruits are rejected more than anything else.

Trade groups speaking for U.S. chicken and hog farmers asked the government to withdraw, or at a minimum restrict, trade benefits for South Africa until it provides more access for U.S. meat imports, reports Feedstuffs.

Trade ministers from the 12 nations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership covering 40 percent of the global economy say they will "continue work on resolving a limited number of remaining issues" that prevented a final agreement in Hawaii.

Trade officials from the 12 nations involved in Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations are in Hawaii in hopes of reaching final agreement on a free-trade pact encompassing 40 percent of world economic outlook, says Politico.

Japanese media say Tokyo "is prepared to increase its import quota for U.S. rice by 50,000 tonnes a year, about a quarter of the U.S. goal, Reuters said at the end of bilateral talks between trade negotiators.