Agricultural biotechnology: China’s commitments to the U.S.

The U.S. government stated that China failed to implement several commitments related to agricultural biotechnology and ractopamine.

If China believes that the United States has failed to implement any of its commitments under the Phase I Agreement, the Phase I Agreement provides a mechanism for China to raise its concerns with the United States, but to date China has not done so.

Instead, the U.S. government has stated that China has yet to implement some of the more significant commitments it made in the Phase One Agreement, such as commitments in the area of agricultural biotechnology and the required risk assessment that China must conduct regarding the use of ractopamine in cattle and swine.

Nor has China, from a U.S. perspective, fulfilled its commitments to purchase U.S. goods and services in 2020 and 2021.

Meanwhile, other commitments China made, such as in the area of technology transfer, are difficult to verify given the tactics China uses to hide its activities.

Agricultural Biotechnology

According to the U.S. government, it is important to note that this Agreement does not meaningfully address the more fundamental concerns the United States has regarding China’s state-directed, non-market policies and practices and their detrimental impact on the U.S. economy and U.S. workers and businesses.

The U.S. government is considering next steps.

The United States and China concluded an economic and trade agreement in January 2020, known as the Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement (Phase One Agreement).

Then, in October 2021, the USTR Office outlined its new strategic approach or vision for the U.S.-China trade relationship.

The main elements are to review with China its performance under the Phase One Agreement, initiate a targeted tariff exclusion process, raise concerns about state-centric and non-market trade policies and practices, use the full range of tools to address those concerns, and continue to work with allies to define new fair trade rules for the 21st century.