U.S., China reach deal on beef, poultry

WASHINGTON — Beijing will open its borders to U.S. beef, while cooked Chinese poultry is closer to landing on American supermarket shelves under a U.S.-China trade agreement.

Trump administration officials hailed the deal as an advance toward boosting U.S. exports and closing America’s trade gap with the world’s second-largest economy. U.S. trade experts offered a more muted assessment, calling the agreement a modest fulfillment of past assurances made by China.

Among other things, the deal enables U.S. companies to export liquefied natural gas to China. It will also lower long-standing barriers that have affected matters ranging from agriculture to the operation of American financial firms in China.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross hailed the agreement, coming on the heels of President Donald Trump’s April meeting with President Xi Jinping, as “a herculean accomplishment.”

In Beijing, Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao told reporters the early results of the agreement showed that economic collaboration between the two sides “couldn’t be closer.”

But trade experts questioned the magnitude of the deal.

“These are modest moves which by themselves will not have much effect on the U.S. economy,” said David Dollar, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former Treasury Department official.

The beef exports and electronic payments in the agreement have long been promised by China. And the agreement does little to address some key issues of trade friction, such as automobiles or social media.

While the Trump administration has touted a surge in U.S. manufacturing, this agreement does little to help that goal.

It remains unclear how far China will go to allow more American exports. Previous administrations have hailed market-opening agreements only to be left disappointed.

Trump made America’s wide trade deficits and especially the gap with China a major issue in his campaign and during the early days of his administration.

Under the agreement, the United States is inviting Chinese companies to import U.S.-produced liquefied natural gas. The Energy Department has authorized natural gas shipments of 19.2 billion cubic feet per day to China and other interested countries that lack a broader free trade agreement with the United States, the Commerce Department said.

China is turning more to natural gas as a way to reduce its dependence on coal and combat the country’s extensive air pollution.

The agreement would also ease import restrictions on agricultural goods, including ending China’s ban on beef imports, which was imposed in 2003 after a case of mad-cow disease. In exchange, the U.S. would allow the sale of cooked Chinese poultry — a move Ross said could be done safely.

“These are modest moves.” David Dollar, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution

MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/AP China, where a grocery clerk works Friday, will open its borders to U.S. beef.