Senate Ag Committee Urges Obama to Press China on Biotech Approvals

The Senate Agriculture Committee penned a letter to President Obama this week urging him to press China to prioritize biotechnology approvals. The bipartisan letter contains 37 signatures, 16 of which are Senate Agriculture Committee members, and asks the President to urge China to move forward in deregulating products awaiting final approval. The letter says: “The Chinese government fails to remain transparent, science-based, and timely in its regulatory process,” impacting farmers and ranchers abilities to access critical markets in China. The letter also called on President Obama to eliminate trade barriers due to regulatory systems the lawmakers claim “don’t operate based on scientific assessments.”