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McKinney discusses latest news on China

USDA Under Secretary for Trade Ted McKinney tells Brownfield the announcement that China has lifted its import restrictions on U.S. poultry “is a very big deal”.

“It’s an enormous market at a time when they need a lot of protein, given all the African Swine Fever issues they’ve been having,” McKinney says. “It represents a great opportunity for them to help feed their people, but also for our farmers and ranchers that grow and sell these animals and their products.”

McKinney says he’s confident the phase one trade agreement with China will get finalized, despite on-again, off-again reports. McKinney says the Chinese are resisting U.S. demands that enforcement mechanisms be part of the agreement.

“We have to do that—and they brought it on themselves because when they’ve done deals in the past, over the course of many presidencies, it usually fizzles in the first 100 or 200 days. That’s not going to happen this time,” he says.

And the best way to enforce a deal, McKinney says, is with tariffs.

“So I don’t see tariffs going away entirely. They may come down a little bit. I don’t know, that’s in the negotiations. But we’ve got to have a way to enforce that what they say they’ll do, and what we say we’ll do, that we each follow through and do.”

McKinney spoke with Brownfield at the NAFB convention in Kansas City.

AUDIO: Ted McKinney
  • I suspect the Chinese will buy our corn and soybeans and grow their own chickens that way they will get their own bird manure for fertilizer

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