U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., has announced his support of a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agreement to allow commercial shipment of American beef and beef products to the Chinese market.
“The Trump administration is delivering results for American agricultural producers,” Wicker said. “This agreement is welcome news for U.S. cattlemen and ranchers who will now be able to compete in one of the world’s largest markets for beef.”
In advance of President Trump’s April summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Wicker joined 38 other senators in urging the Administration to negotiate an agreement that would provide meaningful access to the Chinese beef market for the first time since 2003.
The USDA release accompanying the announcement notes that the Chinese beef import market is worth as much as $2.5 billion and continues to increase in value. Until 2003, the U.S. was the largest supplier of beef to the Chinese market, providing 70 percent of China’s total imports.
In September 2016, Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture Cindy Hyde-Smith was part of the negotiations that lifted the beef ban in China, allowing for the Magnolia state to get involved with the exports.
“We did a lot of research before we left, we met with several people from the trade organization,” said Hyde-Smith. “It was truly a trade mission to try to get them to buy our products, to get them to increase some sales of some products.”
Related: China drops ban on beef, Mississippi Ag Commissioner part of the talks
