Chamber Report Finds Room to Build Upon Gains in US-China Agricultural Trade
A report (here) released Nov. 21 by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and agribusiness intelligence firm Informa Economics IEG projects that U.S.-China agricultural trade will grow from $35.6 billion in 2015 to $106.8 billion by 2025, but asserts two-way trade in that sector could top out at $134.9 billion in nine years if both nations resolve trade barriers. The study examines “agricultural trade” in the context of traditional agricultural products, fish and seafood, forest product, and farm machinery. During a Nov. 21 chamber event highlighting the report, U.S. Chamber Senior Director for Greater China Jeremie Waterman summed up the report’s recommendations for destroying barriers, saying China should streamline biotechnology approvals, slash tariffs, and stop subsidizing local agricultural products and equipment, while the U.S. must maintain an open agricultural trade environment, address Chinese regulatory concerns and ensure import safety. The chamber released the report as Chinese officials visit Washington Nov. 21-23 for the annual meeting of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT).
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Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Chief Agricultural Negotiator Darci Vetter said bilateral agricultural trade has substantially benefited from China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2000. But Chinese safety concerns and non-tariff trade barriers constrain potential U.S. benefits presented by rising Chinese demand for agricultural products, Vetter said. The U.S. plans to address with China during the JCCT antidumping duties and/or “slow and unpredictable” Chinese approval processes for animal vaccines and organisms bearing certain features, known as biological traits, Vetter said. During the bilateral meeting, U.S. officials must look past the tough trade rhetoric voiced during the presidential campaign to see how they can make trade regulations more efficient, she said.
Responding to an audience question, International Food Policy Research Institute Visiting Senior Research Fellow Dr. Joseph Glauber said he doesn’t “have a clue” how Donald Trump’s election will affect U.S.-China agricultural trade, noting heated campaign rhetoric across the presidential race, but Glauber said the growth of U.S. agricultural trade mostly depends on access to overseas markets. He also expressed hopes that the Trump administration will realize that China is driving a large portion of global soybean demand. Trump won several rural states and he staffs 64 agriculture advisers on his transition team, indicating that agriculture is a priority area for him, Informa Economics Vice President Joe Somers said during the Chamber event.