www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

Bilateral trade and cooperation in agriculture and food industry between
China and the United States improved rapidly last year, the 2007 White Paper
shows.
According to the White Paper, brought out by the American Chamber of
Commerce in China, a series of steps conducive to American businesses have
been taken.

China announced simplified procedures for the renewal of genetically
modified organisms safety certificates for biotech crops grown domestically
or imported for processing purposes, granting renewals at the end of January
for all items for which application was made.

Bilateral discussions on food safety measures affecting US red meat and
poultry imports saw some significant results in 2006.

Two Sino-US food safety workshops were held in March and December last year
and a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) on Food Information Notification was
signed by China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection
and Quarantine and the US Department of Agriculture.

The MOC established an early warning and notification system whereby
respective food safety authorities in each country will notify their
counterparts in the event of safety "defects" and "quality findings" in
traded meat and poultry products. This consultative mechanism is designed to
facilitate government-to-government communication prior to serious policy
actions in case of such findings.

On the phytosanitary front, China lifted the ban on imports of citrus fruits
from Fresno county, California, reopened imports of apples from two
facilities that had been de-listed, signed a bilateral fruit fly
harmonization agreement, and modified the Alaska log protocol to facilitate
imports.

Trade in food and agricultural products between the two nations grew
steadily last year. China is the fourth-largest overseas market for US
agricultural, fish and forestry products, accounting for over $7.7 billion
of US exports in 2006, an increase of 27 percent over the previous year.

The US continues to be China's most important supplier of agricultural, fish
and forestry products, providing raw agricultural products.

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