USDA Official Hopes US-China Meeting Is 'Serious Attempt' at Progress
A top U.S. Department of Agriculture official said he was “elated” to hear about the upcoming October meeting between top-level U.S. and China officials, but warned that a trade deal may still be far away. “I hope this is a very serious attempt to get going and to get back to the table and really bring this to fruition,” said Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney, speaking during a Sept. 5 conference call with reporters.
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China will send a delegation to Washington, D.C., in “early October” to resume trade negotiations, China’s Ministry of Commerce said Sept. 5, according to an unofficial translation of a news release. When he first heard the news, McKinney said, “a great big smile crept back into my face,” adding that the meeting signals the two sides are “on a positive track.” But he also said the meeting won’t guarantee a deal will get done.
“I think we all need to proceed with a great sense of caution. This is not done yet,” McKinney said. “Anything goes on this. This is a very tentative relationship at present. I hope it grows stronger.”
McKinney, speaking from Canada, was traveling with 41 U.S. agriculture industry representatives on a “trade mission” to find more export markets for U.S. farmers and companies (see 1908300049). He called the trip “very successful” and said Canadian companies want the U.S. to pass the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which would replace NAFTA, quickly.
“There’s a lot of curiosity about where the U.S. is in the process,” McKinney said. “We certainly, certainly hope that it is this year. The demand by all three countries that this gets done is truly significant.”
McKinney said the USDA is planning more trade missions this year to open export markets in Africa, Mexico and Vietnam.