U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai said in a speech this week that agricultural trade with China is unpredictable and that the U.S. would discuss with China its performance under the phase one trade agreement.
In the first phase of the U.S.-China trade deal, reached in 2019, China agreed to purchase up to US$50 billion in U.S. farm products.
China “made commitments that benefit certain American industries, including agriculture, that we must enforce,” Tai said on October 4 during a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“I am committed to working through the many challenges ahead of us in this bilateral process in order to deliver meaningful results. But above all else, we must defend — to the hilt — our economic interests.”
Tai said the U.S. ag trade with China is “an unpredictable sector for U.S. farmers and ranchers who have come to rely heavily on this market.”
In separate comments, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the U.S.-China relationship is complex and that it is important for the U.S. to have diverse trade relationships around the world.
Read the full report at Feed Strategy.
