China expands U.S. meat imports

Donald Trump’s White House said on Sunday, May 18, that China agreed after Trump’s summit with Xi Jinping to expand imports of U.S. agricultural products, including beef and poultry. Chinese officials separately said the two sides had agreed to expand farm trade through tariff reductions and work on non-tariff barriers and market access issues, while describing the arrangements as preliminary and still to be finalized. The White House has presented the deal as a step toward reviving U.S. farm exports that were hit by the latest round of tariffs. China’s commerce ministry did not match the White House product-by-product description, but it said Beijing would address U.S. concerns over beef plant registrations and poultry exports from some American states. (nbcnewyork.com) Wisconsin farmers are watching the details closely because China remains a critical buyer for several state exports. Wisconsin Public Radio reported that the White House said China would buy at least $17 billion in U.S. agricultural products in each of the next three years, though officials had not specified how much of that total would be beef, poultry, soybeans or other products. (nbcnewyork.com) ### What did Washington and Beijing actually say they agreed to? China’s commerce ministry said on May 16 that both sides would expand agricultural trade through tariff reductions and seek progress on market-access disputes. The ministry said the agreements were preliminary and would be finalized “as soon as possible,” and it did not specify product volumes or values for beef or poultry. (wpr.org) U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the United States expected China to buy “double-digit billions” of U.S. farm goods over the next three years. Beijing also granted five-year registration extensions to 425 U.S. beef plants and approved new five-year registrations for 77 additional U.S. facilities, according to the Chinese account reported by Reuters and carried by CNBC. (cnbc.com) ### Why are Wisconsin growers paying attention to a meat deal? Bob Kaldunski, president of the Ginseng Board of Wisconsin, told WPR that 80% to 85% of the state’s ginseng ends up in China. He said growers had heard from an industry consultant that ginseng was part of Trump’s agricultural negotiations with China, but that it remained unclear how much, if any, was included in the White House purchase commitment. (cnbc.com) Matt Wagenson, vice president of the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board, told WPR that retaliatory tariffs had significantly reduced soybean exports to China. He said continued Chinese buying would be “a huge help,” while noting farmers had not changed crop plans around tariff swings. ### Why are analysts and traders focused on implementation instead of ceremony? (wpr.org) China’s own statement used the word “preliminary,” and that has become the central caveat around the summit announcements. Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting, said tariff reductions on agricultural products would amount to a normalization of China-U.S. farm trade by allowing commercial buyers back into the market. (wpr.org) The gap between the U.S. and Chinese descriptions also leaves open questions about timing, enforcement and product coverage. CNBC, citing Reuters, reported that China’s farm imports from the United States still face an additional 10% levy after last year’s tariff exchanges helped drive a 65.7% drop in trade to $8.4 billion in 2025, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. (cnbc.com) ### How does this connect to Trump’s other trade fights? European Union officials were due to meet in Strasbourg on Tuesday, May 19, to finalize legislation for the bloc’s trade deal with the United States. Bloomberg reported that failure to do so could leave the EU short of Trump’s July 4 deadline for implementation. (cnbc.com) Bernd Lange, the German lawmaker leading the European Parliament’s negotiating team, told POLITICO he was “quite optimistic” about finding a compromise, even as lawmakers argued over safeguards meant to make the accord “Trump-proof.” Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on European auto imports to 25% from 15% if the EU misses the deadline. (bloomberg.com) May 19 is the next concrete test. EU negotiators are meeting in Strasbourg, while U.S. and Chinese officials still have to turn preliminary farm commitments into final terms on tariffs, registrations and product access. (politico.eu)