Roger Bernard, Farm Journal Policy & Washington Editor
China has agreed to hold off on blocking imports of U.S. dairy products for 30 days to allow the U.S. and China time to negotiate a new health certificate. China said April 21 that due to the lack of an agreed-upon health certificate, they would no longer accept U.S. dairy products as of May 1.
The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) said there had been no ongoing discussions related to an inadequacy of U.S. certification language prior to the notification from China.
The groups welcomed the Chinese announcement today, and also said it was a plus that China recognized that trade needed to continue while a new certificate was being negotiated.
The U.S. groups said that action by USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service, in close coordination with the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office (USTR), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed the market to remain open and enable trade to continue to flow uninterrupted.
