In today’s Beef Buzz, senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with Erin Borror, Vice President of Economic Analysis with the U.S. Meat Export Federation, about the ongoing challenges surrounding U.S. beef exports to China. As the industry approaches the one-year anniversary of losing export access, Borror says the situation highlights just how unusual the Chinese market can be. “Everything about China is unique from everyone else in the world,” she said, noting the complexities of the country’s regulatory and facility registration systems.
Borror explained that U.S. beef exports to China were once supported by the Phase One trade agreement, which provided favorable access for American beef facilities. Under that arrangement, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) notified China about eligible plants, which were then listed in China’s registration system. However, a five-year expiration rule that was not expected to apply to U.S. facilities ultimately caused major disruptions. “It’s usually just a paperwork exercise… until you decide not to trigger the update, and then you have an expiration of all of your facilities and essentially a market closure all the way back on March 16,” she said.
When those registrations expired last year, the result was an abrupt halt in shipments. Borror said exporters saw the situation unfold rapidly as facilities lost eligibility almost overnight. “Over that weekend, back on March 16, we were panicking,” she said. “Most of our facilities were going to expire that day, and then at the last minute China updated pork and poultry, but not beef.” While some previously shipped product continued moving through the pipeline for a short time, she noted that “we sold very little beef since that time into mainland China.”
The issue has grown more complicated due to multiple regulatory layers. Borror explained that only a handful of U.S. plants remain eligible, while dozens more are suspended, making a simple fix unlikely. “For the vast majority of the facilities, it’s simply they could flip the switch and it would all be back on,” she said. However, she cautioned that the suspensions add another hurdle, explaining that “a lot of our biggest plants are among those 30 that are suspended,” which could prevent exports even if registrations are restored.
Industry leaders have been working with U.S. trade officials in Washington to address the problem, hoping for progress before upcoming diplomatic discussions. Borror said exporters recently met with officials from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and USDA agencies to highlight the complexity of reopening the market. “Everyone fully understands that just updating the cipher doesn’t cut it,” she said, adding that the industry wants negotiators “fully armed with everything we possibly need” in case an opportunity arises for a breakthrough. As the March 16 anniversary approaches, the U.S. beef industry continues pushing to regain meaningful access to the Chinese market.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
