China Allows Import of Eligible Pork, Poultry Products From 106 U.S. Plants

By Ella Cao, Ethan Wang, Shi Bu, and Ryan Woo

BEIJING, June 13 (Reuters) – China has approved 106 new U.S. pork and poultry plants to export eligible products produced on or after June 12, Chinese Customs said in a notice on its website.

The approval was issued on Thursday, the notice showed. It comes after China and U.S. agreed on a framework to get their trade truce reached in Geneva talks last month back on track.

The newly approved facilities include 23 pork plants and 83 poultry plants, according to a Chinese Customs database.

China in March slapped tariffs of up to 15% covering $21 billion worth of American agricultural and food products, in retaliation against Trump’s imposition of levies on Chinese exports.

Hundreds of U.S. meat plants gained access to China under the 2020 “Phase 1” trade deal brokered by President Donald Trump, but many lost their eligibility earlier this year. While registrations for pork and poultry facilities have since been renewed, beef plant registrations remain listed as “expired.”

(Reporting by Ella Cao, Ethan Wang, Shi Bu and Ryan Woo; Editing by Louise Heavens)