The U.S. and China reached a phase one trade agreement Thursday, with U.S. and Chinese officials talking about some of the details on Friday.
The Chinese have committed to purchase an additional $16 billion in U.S. ag goods beyond a $24 billion base – the level of U.S. ag exports to China in 2017. The total of $40 billion in purchases includes China indicating they will work to try to make additional purchases.
While the U.S. has indicated the list of commodities will not be made public, commodities mentioned thus far are corn, wheat, cotton and rice by the Chinese.
But perhaps more important are issues covering broader agricultural trade matters. The Agriculture Chapter addresses structural barriers to trade and will support a dramatic expansion of U.S. food, agriculture and seafood product exports, increasing American farm and fishery income, generating more rural economic activity, and promoting job growth, according to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). “A multitude of non-tariff barriers to U.S. agriculture and seafood products are addressed, including for meat, poultry, seafood, rice, dairy, infant formula, horticultural products, animal feed and feed additives, pet food, and products of agriculture biotechnology,” USTR said.
China is expected to purchase a total of $200 billion in U.S. goods, including agriculture items.
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