USDA official sees mounting challenges for agricultural exporters to China

A web of Chinese food safety standards, “mercantilist” policies, trade agreements that exclude the U.S. and other non-tariff barriers are making it difficult for U.S. agricultural exporters to ship their products to China, a senior Agriculture Department official said Friday. “The Chinese government’s tendency to link agricultural trade issues to those issues that are non-agricultural presents a real challenge to science-based international standards and norms adopted by trade partners like the United States,” Michael Ward, a senior agricultural attaché at...